I Never Wanted to be the Hero
by rylek196
Summary: 'Be careful when you fight monsters, lest you become one'. As Hilbert Touya travels through the Unova region, he will learn the value of these words, as each hardship he endures drives him further down the path into murderous psychopathy... Novelization of Pokemon White. No pairings. Cover art by firegirl6464 on Deviantart. Rated T for language and some content.
1. Prologue 1: Forced Evolution

**I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Prologue 1: Forced Evolution

"Is everything ready?" A man with green hair asked.

"Yes, sir," a scientist wearing a lab coat and sitting in front of a control panel answered. "The laser is good to go. We can begin any time."

Another scientist sitting next to him was not so confident. "This is insane," he muttered fearfully. "Once we do this, that thing's gonna evolve, get loose and kill everything. Everything being us."

The green haired man simply pulled a Poke Ball from his belt, and clicked the button on its front twice, opening it. In a flash of light, a deadly-looking Pokemon appeared. It was red, humanoid, and just over five feet tall. Its body was clad in armour resembling a traditional samurai, with an axe-like blade adorning its head. Wickedly sharp blades were also present on its forearms and stomach. The Pokemon took a fighting stance as the offending scientist cowered in fear.

"Bisharp, as you will. Night Slash." Said the green haired man. The poor scientist could only watch as the Bisharp, moving so quickly it was a blur, dashed toward him. The man didn't even have time to scream before the Pokemon cut open his throat with its arm blades.

With a gurgle, the scientist's body tumbled out of its seat, his blood pooling on the floor. The other one gave an uninterested grunt as the green haired man recalled Bisharp to its Poke Ball. That was Ghetsis for you, the scientist thought. All business, all-committed to his goals, all the time. There was no room for those who were uncertain. And that was a fundamental rule of Pokemon. While the creatures themselves could not kill each other, they could very easily kill humans.

"Shall we... bring it in sir?" He asked, not even giving the corpse a second glance. "Yes," Ghestis replied. "Get someone down here to replace the incompetent, and... have guards posted outside the room with Fighting-types, just in case." The scientist nodded, calling someone over the intercom in the lab. Two more workers hustled into the room, one dragging the body away, while the other sat down, preparing to monitor the energy levels of the Pokemon they were about to bring into the adjacent room.

Through a glass panel, they could see a scientist wheel a cart on a track into the room behind the control panel. Strapped down thoroughly to the cart, was a black-and-blue coloured, quadrupedal Dark/Dragon- type known as a was a very unique Pokemon, to say the least. The middle stage of the Deino line, it could evolve into its final form, the deadly pseudo-legendary known as Hydreigon, one of two ways. The first was to get both of Zweilous's two heads to like each other. This would trigger a split personality merge, leading to evolution into Hydreigon. However, this approach came with significant downsides, particularly where time and training were concerned. Getting the rowdy Zweilous's heads to like each other took many months, and Ghetsis did not have that much time, not now. On top of that, training a Zweilous was a herculean task, one that only the most skilled of Trainers could do.

Fortunately, there was another way. The second way was dismissed by experts worldwide as, "barbaric," "inhumane," and that, "only the insane would try it." Ghetsis didn't consider himself insane, but he was pressed for time. In hindsight, it was an error on his part to leave such a crucial part of his plan to the last minute, but now there was no other choice. Once two guards armed with Fighting-types- one of the Zweilous line's few weaknesses- were posted outside the door to the room the Zweilous was in, Ghetsis gave the order.

"Fire up the laser. Make sure to keep it steady, and watch for any signs of that thing's energy levels fluctuating."

"Yes, sir." Replied the first scientist, turning to his control panel and pressing a few buttons. The other one kept a close eye on a monitor in front of him.

Through the glass panel, they could see a machine hanging from the ceiling in the Zweilous's room whir to life. Various lights of different colours on it blinked on. Slowly, it began to move along its rail in the ceiling, until it was about a foot from the Zweilous. The Pokemon thrashed against its restraints, but they were simply too strong.

"Its energy levels are steady, despite how much it's struggling," the scientist watching the monitor reported. "Good," said Ghetsis. "Ready?" The other scientist nodded. "Then do it." The man flipped a switch, and the machine began to fire a red-hot laser from its tip, scorching the floor. It slowly moved closer to the unfortunate Pokemon, until the heat beam was slicing into one of the Zweilous's two necks.

There was no blood, gore, or anything of the sort as the Zweilous had a head sliced off, nor had anyone expected there to be. Pokemon were unlike any other beings in the universe, comprised of solid energy, and nothing more. This was why they were unable to kill each other. Even a Legendary, such as the fabled Hoenn deities of the sea and land, Kyogre and Groudon, could not kill a measly Caterpie. In fact, as the decapitated head fell to the floor, it dissolved into a white mist.

"That's all we need to do," said Ghetsis. "Shut it down." With the turn of a knob, the laser was slowly powered down. Beginning at the stump on its neck, a white glow began to envelop the Zweilous's body. The whiteness spread, until it had completely covered the Pokemon. Its form then began to shift and change, growing larger, more fearsome, more deadly. To everyone's horror, as this happened, the restraints holding the evolving Zweilous down began to snap due to its changing body shape.

"Be ready," said Ghetsis warily. He had heard of a Hydreigon's destructive power, but had never witnessed it, and he didn't want to.

He was destined to be disappointed.

The glow around the Zweilous place of the Hostile Pokemon, was the tri-headed, six-winged terror known as Hydreigon. A freed, and very, very angry Hydreigon. The Pokemon started to rip apart the laser, tearing it to bits, and smashed its body against the walls, denting them severely. Nervously, one scientist called the two guards with Fighting-types over the intercom. "We could use some help subduing that thing, please," he said. Two men entered the room cautiously, each throwing out Poke Balls which opened to release humanoid Fighting-types- the squat, red skinned Judo expert called a Throh, and the lean, blue skinned Karate master known as Sawk.

The rampaging Hydreigon whipped its heads towards the intruders. It let out a roar that Ghetsis and the other scientists could hear even behind the thick pane of one-way glass. The Sawk's trainer made the first move. "Sawk, use Rock Smash!" The blue Pokemon leaped into action, hitting the crazed Dark/Dragon type with a pressure point striking punch. The Hydreigon screamed as it was hit with the super-effective attack, flying across the room and hitting the wall hard. It was far from finished, though, getting right back up. It swooped, but not towards the Sawk, but rather, towards its trainer.

"Power-Up Punch, Throh!" The Throh's trainer commanded. The red humanoid Pokemon flanked the Hydreigon, hitting it in the side. Again, the dragon yelled in pain, being sent to the floor. Despite being hit with two super-effective attacks, the beast was not down for the count. It got back up, knowing that if it took one more hit, it would faint. When it attacked this time though, it truly showed its power, unleashing a devastating Dragon Pulse at the Sawk.

The blue Pokemon didn't have a hope in hell to dodge the energy beam. It was struck hard, and due to Sawk being a glass cannon defensively- that was, it could hit hard, but couldn't take a hit- it went down, condensing back into the energy it was.

The Hydreigon then turned its attention to the Throh. "Seismic Toss, Throh!" Its trainer yelled. Throh jumped up on the Hydreigon's back, attempting to piledrive it into the floor, only to get grabbed by the Hydreigon's head-like hands and tossed off itself. Before the Pokemon could recover, the Hydreigon was upon it, biting and attacking with savage blood lust. "Throh!" The trainer yelled. "Dammit, get outta there!" At the sound of the human's voice, the Hydreigon stopped trying to gore the poor Throh, and fired what looked like a five-pointed star made of fire at him.

He was killed instantly as the Fire Blast made contact, and also turned the sealed room's temperature up several hundred degrees in a second. The Sawk's trainer shrieked as he was cooked alive. Everyone in the adjoining room, even Ghetsis, watched in shock, Ghetsis backing away towards the door. The other two scientists were rooted to their seats in fear.

Without warning, the Brutal Pokemon started to gather energy around it, congealing it into a sphere."It's charging up a Focus Blast!" One of the scientists yelled. "Everyone, DOWN!" In spite of the glass being designed to withstand heavy impacts, it was no match for the Hydreigon's sheer power. The pane shattered instantly as the bolt of kinetic energy hit it, sending deadly shrapnel flying at the three men. Ghetsis dove to the floor, but not quite fast enough. Several stray pieces of glass hit his right arm, tearing the sleeve of his lab coat and drawing blood, while one sliced across his eye, blinding it immediately. Unfortunately, no adrenaline had entered his system yet, so he felt the pain quite acutely.

One scientist had managed to duck and avoid most of the shards, but the other had not been so lucky. His body was slumped forwards, pierced in dozens of places by razor-sharp glass. The man pressed the intercom button on the still functioning control panel and began to yell frantically. "WE NEED BACKUP DOWN HERE! WE NEED-" He never finished his sentence, as another Focus Blast turned him into meat juice, sending blood flying everywhere.

"Gah..." Clutching the bleeding side of his face, Ghetsis stood, pulling his Bisharp's Poke ball from his belt and releasing the Sword Blade Pokemon. "Bisharp, X-Scissor!" Another weakness of Dark types was Bug, for whatever reason, and X-Scissor was a Bug-type move. The Bisharp ran at the Hydreigon, crossing its arm-blades in an 'x', ready to slash, but the Dark/Steel type was cut down in a heartbeat by another Fire Blast from the insane dragon.

Despite his fear, Ghetsis looked at the Hydreigon with a twisted sense of awe. The beast was truly a perfect killing machine, and it would have no trouble doing what needed to be done when the time came. The snarling Pokemon advanced towards him, causing his heart rate to skyrocket. He couldn't die here, not before his plan had really even begun! Adrenaline was now coursing through him, evidenced by the fact that he could barely feel his eye wound, and by how heavily he was breathing. He heard multiple footsteps in the hall, coming closer. Apparently the dead scientist's final message had gotten through. He just needed to survive a bit longer until help arrived...

The Hydreigon let loose another Fire Blast right at him. Ghetsis almost dodged the fiery five-pointed star, but it caught him on the right arm, setting it ablaze. He screamed in pain, rolling around on the floor, trying to smother the flames. As the monstrous dragon opened its mouth for one more Dragon Pulse, a blur came out of nowhere and smashed into the beast. The Hydreigon slammed into the wall on the far side of the room, finally knocked out. In shock that he was still alive, if wounded, Ghetsis passed out, and everything went black.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello to anyone, and everyone who may have clicked on this story! I'm rather excited to be starting this project, and I hope you'll join me for the ride. While yes, this will be a novelization, as said in the summary, it will not be a copy-the-game word-for-word style one. My main goal with this story is realism. That means no hammer-space bag (to a point, I may have to bend that rule slightly). Most Gyms will be toned down design-wise, but as a trade-off, the cities and towns will be made much bigger. Most importantly, Hilbert will go through HELL, both emotionally and physically, on his journey. I have this gut feeling that a Pokemon adventure wouldn't be as sunshine and rainbows as the games make them out to be, and Hilbert will experience many hardships. I think you all will also quickly find out which theories I personally subscribe to, what headcanons I have, and even what pairings I ship (at least for Gen 5) in the world of these Capsule Monsters just by reading this story. And even though these disclaimers would hold no water in a court of law, I'll put one anyways: I am in no way associated with Nintendo or Game Freak.**


	2. Prologue 2: The Crowning

**I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Prologue 2: The Crowning

 **Unknown location, 10:00 PM**

The torches were lit, illuminating the great throne room hall.

The banners that bore the organization's emblem were hung. The sages were gathered.

All was ready.

Holding a small pillow upon which a golden crown sat, Ghetsis walked through the hall towards an ornate throne. He had changed out of his lab coat, now wearing a fancy cloak more suitable for the ceremony- the crowning of the king of Team Plasma. "Today!" he announced, "Is a glorious day! After many years, the king is finally ready to bear the honour of the task of Liberation!"

The six sages, and a large gathering of the lesser members of the organization, standing back further in the hall, all cheered. Ghetsis held his hands up to silence them, then called, "Bring forth the king!"

On cue, a young man, clothed in elegant robes fit for royalty, appeared at the end of the hallway. He had tea-green hair, much like Ghetsis himself, but his was much longer and trailed down his back in a long ponytail. He was flanked on either side by two women; his caretakers, Anthea and Concordia. The young man slowly, and almost reverently, began to walk down the carpeted floor towards the throne. Ghetsis moved aside briefly to let the youth stand in front of the ornate chair.

Ghetsis held the crown high above his head with both hands, revealing his badly burned right arm. Thankfully, a skin donor had prevented the need for amputation, but the wounds were still visible. As the crown was lowered slowly onto his head, the young man closed his eyes, thinking of his childhood. He remembered being alone, with no one to raise him except for Pokemon. Feeling the weight of the crown on his head, he opened his eyes, the reminiscing over.

Cheers of, "Long live the king!" broke out in the hall, while Anthea and Concordia looked on from the sidelines. The young man raised his left arm to call for silence once again, preparing to give a short speech, but Ghetsis tuned him out, thinking instead of the events of a few days prior. He had been saved by an Accelgor, a lightning-fast Bug-type, as he later found out. The Hydreigon had been confined to a special Poke Ball that would only open if its central button was pressed three times. He had been warned to never open it until it was time, and to recall the crazed dragon immediately after the deed was done. Surgeons had operated on his right eye, but there was nothing they could do, and it had to be removed. Ghetsis now wore a red monocle of sorts to cover the injury.

The room in the P2 Laboratory where the Zweilous had forcibly evolved suffered heavy damage, and as a result, project GENESECT had been put on hold, at least for two years. Still, in the grand scheme of things, these were minor setbacks. Ghetsis noticed the young man was almost done talking, and allowed a small smile to cross his face. Yes, everything was going according to plan...


	3. Chapter 1: Your First Pokemon!

**A/N: Alright, now's as good a time as any to explain how battles will work in this story. 1. Pokemon moves can be used an infinite number of times, PP will not exist. 2. No trainer will use in-battle items. Pokemon hold items are fine, and how those work (I.E. how Pokemon hold them) will be explained in the story once we get there. 3. No switching mid-battle. A Pokemon will fight until it goes down. The only exceptions to this are moves like Volt Switch and U-Turn. 4. Natures, Effort Values and Individual Values will not exist and would have no bearing on anything even if they did. This is to make things more manageable for me. Abilities will come into play sometimes, however. With all that outta the way, let's finally meet our protagonist, shall we?**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 1: Your First Pokemon!

14-year-old Hilbert 'Blake' Touya had definitely had better months.

For one, he had been having nightmares that often left him awake and screaming in the middle of the night. In them, a red-haired young man climbed and killed creatures bigger and more fearsome than any Pokemon he had ever seen by stabbing them to death in specific places on their bodies. They were terrifying, and he dreaded closing his eyes each night because of them.

For two, they'd been happening once a night, every night, for the past _fifteen nights._ As one could imagine, as he rolled out of bed on the fifteenth morning, he was very grouchy. Then again, he supposed while taking his daily shower, it wasn't all bad.

A few days before the nightmares began rearing their ugly faces, his mother had filled and sent out a forum to the Pokemon League, in order for him to become an official Pokemon Trainer. Two days before, a package arrived at his house containing his Trainer Card- a piece of plastic that would serve both as his Trainer I.D. and bank card. The card came pre-loaded with 3000 Pokedollars, and included a pixelated full-body picture of himself. The package also came with a blue Gym Badge case, to hold all the Badges in the region (assuming he ever won any to begin with).

If he was being honest with himself, Hilbert really didn't care about winning the Pokemon League and becoming Champion, or even winning Badges, for that matter. As he saw it, the purpose of the journey was to have fun and adventure with the Pokemon he would be receiving that day- in the words of Nuvema Town's resident Pokemon expert, Professor Juniper, "To grow as a person."

Hilbert stepped out of the shower, dried himself, and changed into his favourite outfit: black jeans with a black t-shirt, and a jacket in two shades of blue over that. He laced up his black shoes, and to put on the finishing touch, he grabbed the white-and-red baseball cap with a Poke Ball logo on the front off the back of his bedroom door, and placed it on his head. He frequently got hat-hair from wearing the cap, and was teased about it somewhat by his two close friends, Cheren and Bianca, but he didn't care, the hat was a gift from his father before the man abruptly left him and his mother when Hilbert was young.

Hilbert was distracted from his melancholy train of thought by the doorbell ringing. He bounded down the stairs, but his mother, who was already awake and making breakfast, was faster. She had already opened the door, and was chatting with Professor Juniper, who was standing just outside the door.

Behind the Pokemon expert, with his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently, was Cheren. The raven-haired, glasses-wearing teen was dressed in his usual attire, a white t-shirt with a red stripe down the middle, black pants that were a tad tighter than Hilbert's somewhat baggy jeans, and a blue jacket, though Cheren's was a bit fancier compared to Hilbert's.

Despite his somewhat nerdy appearance, Cheren actually had a thicker build than Hilbert, as he had lost many an arm-wrestle to Cheren. He pushed his glasses up, the lenses glinting in the early morning sun upon seeing Hilbert standing in the house. Meanwhile, Hilbert's mother was just finishing up her conversation with Juniper, who walked back to her lab, Hilbert's mother doing likewise to the kitchen.

"Finally," Cheren huffed as he marched into Hilbert's house uninvited. "I thought they'd never be done talking."

Hilbert chose to ignore Cheren's quite rude comment, instead asking, "What've you got there?" In Cheren's hands was a large cardboard box, a fancy green ribbon on top and sealed shut with tape.

"What I have here, Hilbert, is our future," said Cheren dramatically. "I was coming over here anyways, but I bumped into Professor Juniper on the way, and she asked me to help deliver this."

Hilbert's eyes widened. "You don't mean..?"

"Oh, I mean, my friend," smirked Cheren. "In this box lies the three Pokemon that will lead us to our destiny! Let's go upstairs and open it right now!"

"Slow down there, you two," called Hilbert's mother from the kitchen, overhearing her son's conversation. "Have you even had breakfast yet, Hilbert?"

"Now that you mention it, I haven't," mumbled Hilbert. "You go on ahead, Cheren, get everything ready." Cheren groaned in frustration.

"Fine," he said in a lower, almost threatening voice, "Just don't take too long." With that, he walked up the stairs, out of sight.

Hilbert sighed and walked into the kitchen, smelling freshly made scrambled eggs. "What has gotten into Cheren these days?" asked his mother, turning off the stove. Hilbert shrugged, getting a plate out of a cupboard.

"Beats me. Ever since he got his Trainer Card, he's been a little more, uh... intense. He's been over the moon these past few days waiting for the eggs the Pokemon in that box were to hatch. He told me he was gonna beat the Pokemon League Champion someday."

"Well, I can't fault him for being ambitious," said his mother. "But this is your big day too, and for that..." She walked over holding the frying pan, scooping scrambled eggs onto Hilbert's waiting plate. "I made you an extra-large amount." She kissed him on the cheek. "Congratulations on becoming a Trainer, honey."

"Thanks, Mom." Beginning to dig into his food, he was barely halfway done eating when Cheren's voice yelled, "HILBERT, COME ON! I'M GETTING OLD HERE!"

 _"Fuck,"_ hissed Hilbert under his breath, so low that his mother couldn't hear it. "No food for the hungry, I suppose," he muttered. "Sorry, Mom, but apparently 'destiny' is a little impatient."

"Oh, it's fine, sweetheart," his mother responded. "I'll just have the rest of them myself!" Hilbert chuckled as he walked out of the kitchen. He walked up the stairs to the second floor, down a hallway, and stopped in front of his bedroom door. The house he lived in was a small, two story, two-bedroom one-bathroom arrangement, ideal for a small family. Oddly enough, his mother had given him the master bedroom as soon as he was old enough, presumably to get away from the memories of her long-gone husband.

Sighing again, Hilbert opened the door, walking into the room. A pissed-off Cheren was not high on the list of things he wanted to deal with today, and Cheren had a surprisingly short fuse. "What is it, Cheren, you interrupted my perfectly good breakfast," he said. _It was scrambled eggs just the way I like it, too..._ he added forlornly in his mind.

"Oh, nothing, just the fact that you were taking so damn long, and I got bored of waiting," replied Cheren pointedly. "I can't wait for Bianca to get here so we can open that box. Imagine, adventuring all across the region, meeting all kinds of different people and Pokemon, and most importantly, getting stronger like only a few ever have been. One day, we could be spoken of in the same breath as Brendan Ruby, or Gold... or even Red!"

"Okay, whoa, slow down there, tiger!" Hilbert put his palms up in a 'halt' gesture. "Assuming that happens- which isn't likely by the way- it won't happen overnight. On top of that, do you know the hell they had to go through to be recognized as... 'Legendary Trainers', I believe the term is?"

"Who cares?" Cheren shot back. "So long as they became famous and strong and known worldwide, what else matters?"

Hilbert pinched the bridge of his nose. Cheren could be so shortsighted and narrow-minded sometimes... "Whatever, man. Let's just watch some TV while waiting for Bianca. I hear they're playing the Hero trilogy back-to-back-to-back."

"Sounds good. You know I'm a sucker for the first one."

Hilbert turned on the big-screen TV against the wall, and they sat on the floor, watching the movie 'The Hero of Time'. The Hero trilogy- that was, The Hero of Time, The Hero of Masks, and the Hero of the Winged Ones, was a big-budget fantasy movie trilogy, that had cleaned up the box offices worldwide a few years ago. Set on a faraway, mystical dwarf planet called Hyrule, the films chronicled the life of its protagonist, the Hero of Time, from cradle to grave. The first had been a rousing success, a classic in every sense of the word. While the second had been met with mixed opinions at first, it was slowly gaining a cult following that people suspected would grow in time. The third had been the epic conclusion, wrapping up all major plot threads and closing the book forever... or so people _thought_.

Unfortunately, the studio had gotten too greedy, drunk off the success of the trilogy, and made a part four. The three-parter was good on its own, everyone said... and then The Hero of Twilight had come along, like an unwanted pregnancy, to muddy things up. Gone were the relatively colourful world and characters, in their place was a drab, brown colour palette and uninteresting characters, most of whom were shoved aside in favour of what people said was the film's biggest flaw: The new Hero's companion and love interest, a princess from another world that had been turned into an ugly imp by one of the villains.

The character was a glorified Mary-Sue, critics had said. The trope 'New Powers as the Plot Demands' definitely applied for her, and several of them, along with various plot twists, had felt more like ass-pulls rather than an actual, well thought-out story arc. Needless to say, it was a disaster.

As the minutes dragged by, Hilbert found himself tuning out the movie, thinking instead of the various so-called 'Legendary Trainers' Cheren had made reference to: Brendan of the Hoenn region, Gold 'Ethan' of Johto, and Red of Kanto. All three regions were far away from his home country, the Unova region.

Brendan Orlando Ruby had, at age twelve, defeated the two maniacal Eco-terrorist organizations of Team Aqua and Team Magma, saving the world from their plans to radically and apocalyptically alter the planet's weather. Not only that, he had beaten the Hoenn region Champion, Wallace, and now ran a place called the Battle Frontier with his newlywed wife, May Anna Ruby, formerly May Anna Birch. One of his childhood friends, a Trainer named Wally, had become one of the 'Frontier Brains', intensely strong Trainers who were in charge of challenging other Trainers.

Gold was a child prodigy. At the tender age of _eleven,_ he had taken down once and for all the infamous criminal syndicate called Team Rocket. He also had trekked across his home region of Johto and the neighbouring Kanto, defeating all the Gym Leaders of both countries, and had faced Red atop the hallowed, freezing peak of Mount Silver. The lights from their battle were said to be so bright, they turned the night into day for several kilometres around, and could be seen from Indigo Plateau, the site of the Kanto-Johto Pokemon League. (In truth, the former Champion, Lance, actually had).

As for Red- _ding-dong._ For the second time that day, Hilbert's train of thought was cut off by the doorbell. "I'll get it!" They heard his mother yell from downstairs.

"That must be Bianca," said Hilbert, shutting off the television. Sure enough, less then a minute later, Bianca walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Bianca wore an orange tank top over a white, puffy-shouldered shirt, a white skirt that went down to her shins, orange tights on her legs, and a green hat in the style of a beret.

"Am I late?" She asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Yes, you are," answered Cheren with a slight edge to his tone, but then sighed. "For the love of Arceus, Bianca, I've always known you had no sense of time, but really? Today of all days?"

"Well so-oooo-orry!" Bianca shot back sarcastically, "It's not my fault I forgot to pack!" Cheren muttered something under his breath that sounded almost like, "Yes it is," before Hilbert stepped in. He was usually the peacemaker between his friends, sometimes to his annoyance.

"Just leave her alone, Cheren. It doesn't matter how late she is now, right? Now we can open the box."

"Oh, right! Yes!" Bianca squealed, pointing to the box. "The Pokemon are right there, right?"

"Yep," Cheren said. "C'mon, Hilbert, open it!"

"Alright, alright!" Hilbert set the box down on a small table next to the wall farthest from the TV. "Oh?" He noticed something was taped to the box's lid. "There's a note here..." He took the note off the box and read it aloud.

" _I've brought three Pokemon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokemon! -Professor Juniper."_ Hilbert finished reading the note, then peeled off the tape holding the lid in place with his thumbnails, and opened the box.

Cheren and Bianca both crowded around him as the lid came off. There, inside a foam inlay, were three red-and-white Poke Balls, polished to a mirror sheen. Cheren broke the stunned silence first. "They look so awesome... Finally, I'm going to be a Trainer..."

"Um, guys?" Bianca spoke up. "This is great and all, but how do we pick the Pokemon we want if we don't even know which ball has what in it?"

Cheren's look of awe instantly deflated. "...Good point. Hilbert, check the inside of the lid. Maybe there's something we missed."

Hilbert nodded, picking up the lid from the floor. He flipped it over, and sure enough, there were pictures of each Pokemon, which ball contained what, and their genders. "Yeah, the info's right here," he informed his friends. "Good call, Cheren." He pointed to the ball on the left. "That one contains Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokemon. It's a female." Snivy was a small, green, reptilian creature, with large red eyes, a cream-coloured belly, and a tail that resembled a three-pronged leaf. In the picture that had been taken of it, it looked rather snobby and almost arrogant. _If Cheren was a little more harsh, it'd be a match made in heaven,_ Hilbert thought to himself.

He then pointed to the middle Poke Ball. "That one has Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokemon. It and the last one are both male." Tepig was a quadrupedal, orange... well, pig. It had a curly tail tipped with a pink ball, a thick yellow stripe on its black snout, and curious-looking eyes. Hilbert actually thought it looked rather cute in its picture. Bianca apparently thought so, too.

"Oh my gosh, that thing is absolutely _adorable!"_ She squealed in a high-pitched tone. Wanting to be nice to his friend, because she obviously wanted Tepig, he ruled out picking it.

Hilbert pointed to the last Poke Ball, the one on the right. "And last but not least, we have Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokemon." Ohsawott seemed to be an otter-like creature. Its body was light blue in colour, while its arms were and head were white. Two small, dark blue ears, the same colour as its feet and rudder-like tail, were present on its head. The most notable thing about Oshawott though, was the pale yellow seashell on its belly. In the picture, Ohsawott was smiling cutely towards the camera, revealing two pointed teeth in its mouth.

"So," Bianca spoke up, "If the Pokemon were delivered to Hilbert's house, I guess that means he gets first pick, right?"

"Okay, that seems fair," said Cheren. "Just hurry up, will you?"

"Don't worry, Cheren, I've already made up my mind," said Hilbert confidently. "I think I'll choose... Oshawott!" He picked up the ball on the right and held it up to his face, seeing his reflection in the polished metal. "Looks like you're comin' with me, buddy!"

"Ooh, ooh, then I get Tepig!" Exclaimed Bianca, snatching up the middle Poke Ball. "That one's yours then, Cheren!"

"But-," the glasses-wearing boy said, about to protest, but then seemingly thought better of it. "Oh, whatever. I wanted Snivy from the start anyways." He picked up the left-most ball. "Just one thing, you guys. Why'd you choose the ones you did?"

"Simple," replied Hilbert. "I saw some potential in this thing. Plus, look at the picture and then my jacket. We match, see?" Cheren sighed in exasperation. Bianca's reason, on the other hand, was even _more_ shallow. "Um, I just chose Tepig 'cause I thought it looked cute...?" Both Hilbert and Cheren face-palmed.

"You should _never_ pick a Pokemon based on looks alone, Bianca!" Cheren berated her. "Stats and type are what matter! For example, I already know that my Snivy, when it evolves, will have superior defences and speed, so that's why I was hoping I'd get it."

"O-oh yeah!?" Bianca stuttered, insulted. "Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Mr. Know-It-All! I'll battle you right here, right now!"

"Uh... in my bedroom?" said Hilbert, unease in his voice. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, guys... You could, y'know, end up trashing the place without meaning to..."

Cheren turned towards Hilbert. "Then why don't you join in?" he challenged.

"Yeah!" chimed in Bianca. "It could be a nice three way free-for-all! And I'll get to make Cheren eat his words when I kick his butt."

Cheren simply growled. "We'll see about that."

"Not giving me a choice, are you?" sighed Hilbert. "Okay, I guess I'm in. Let's just try to _not_ destroy my room, alright?"

"Deal!" Cheren and Bianca said simultaneously.

Cheren clicked the Poke Ball's central button. The ball opened, and in a flash of bluish-white energy, Snivy appeared. _"Sni-vy!"_ It cried.

"Weren't you supposed to throw the ball?" asked Bianca.

"No, that's not strictly necessary," replied Cheren. "The throwing motion opens the ball, true, but the _reason_ it's even thrown in the first place is get the Pokemon as far away from you as possible before the battle starts. These things are quite dangerous when fully evolved, and no one wants to get caught in the crossfire of a battle."

"Yeah, that makes me feel _so_ much better about doing this in my room," muttered Hilbert, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Relax, Hilbert, I said when they're fully evolved. The ones we have are still weak, so they shouldn't do too much damage." Cheren reassured him.

"Okay, Tepig!" said Bianca, clicking the button, "Come on out!" There was another flash of energy, and the Fire Pig Pokemon materialized with a cry of, " _Tep-tepig!"_

"Awww!" Bianca squealed, "It's just as cute as it looked in the picture!"

As Bianca showered her Tepig with praise, Hilbert clicked his Poke Ball's central button. "Alright, Oshawott, let's show 'em what you can do." There was a third flash, and the blue otter-like Pokemon appeared.

 _"Oshawah!"_ The starter cried.

"Alright, Bianca, you stand over there," said Cheren, pointing to the left wall. "Hilbert, take the right; I'll get the TV wall." Everyone did as they were told, their Pokemon following them. "Ready?" Hilbert and Bianca nodded. "Then let's do this!"

"Okay, Tepig, go straight for Oshawott! Use Tackle!" Bianca cried. Tepig made a beeline right for Oshawott, who cried out in fear and dove to the side. Tepig rammed into the wall, narrowly missing Hilbert, punching a hole in the drywall and getting its head stuck.

"Holy crap!" Hilbert yelled. He whipped his head in Cheren'a direction. "I thought you said these things wouldn't do any damage!"

"I said they wouldn't do _too much_ damage," Cheren shrugged. "Besides, it's not my bedroom. Snivy, attack Tepig while it's open, then go for Ohsawott!"

"Oh, no! Tepig, come on!" It was too late, the Grass Snake Pokemon had slammed headlong into Tepig. The Fire Pig let out a squeal as it was struck in the side, but that had the side-effect of loosening its head, allowing it to it to rip it free, making the hole in the drywall even bigger. Tepig shook the dust out of its eyes, dazed. "I won't let you get away with that, Cheren!" Bianca cried. "Tepig, go after Snivy! Take it out!"

Snivy, however, had already moved on to attack Oshawott. It slammed its large head into the Sea Otter Pokemon, sending it flying onto Hilbert's futon bed, which was in the corner of the room. _You bastard, Cheren,_ Hilbert thought, but then finally ordered his Pokemon to do something. "Oshawott, get up! Tackle Snivy!" Snivy yelled as both Tepig and Oshawott ran for it.

"Do something, Snivy!" Cheren commanded, but could only watch as his Pokemon took a simultaneous Tackle from the other two starters, sending it into a wall, denting the drywall. Hilbert winced at the beating his room was taking. The sheets on his bed were dishevelled, there were holes in two separate walls, and he had a feeling the battle was far from over.

"Grr," Cheren growled, "Snivy, _get up!"_ The Snivy unsteadily got to its feet, shaking its head. "Use Tackle again! Go for Tepig!"

The battle kept going for nearly ten minutes, and it was a complete seesaw, with someone on top, but then quickly being knocked off that precarious perch. It all ended when Oshawott was cornered with its back to a bookshelf. Tepig and Snivy both ran at the Water-type, expecting an easy knockout, but Oshawott leapfrogged over Tepig, causing the other two to crash headfirst into the shelf. It teetered, shook, and began to tip forward. "Oshawott, get outta there!" Hilbert yelled. Too little, too late. The bookshelf slammed down on the three Pokemon, knocking them all out instantly with an almighty _CRASH._

"Uh, oh," Hilbert gulped. Everyone was stunned into silence for a second, then they all ran towards the bookshelf, lifting it off their precious starters. All three Pokemon were okay, if battered and unconscious, and would be fine when returned to their respective Poke Balls and given a Potion. Cheren let out a low whistle of admiration.

"Damn," he said, returning Snivy to her Poke Ball, " _Maybe_ I underestimated the power these things have."

"Gee, ya _THINK!?" s_ creamed Hilbert, gesturing to the utterly trashed room. The Wii, however, wasn't even scratched. "I can't _believe_ I let you two talk me into this! If I had known-"

"Hilbert, what was that crash?" His mother's voice from downstairs cut off his diatribe-to-be.

"Nothing, Mom!" Hilbert called. He groaned, then jabbed his index finger at Cheren. "If she makes me clean this up, so help me..."

"Just calm down, Hilbert," Bianca said. "Let's just go apologize, and I'm sure she'll forgive us. Right?"

Hilbert took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Fine." He said finally. "But I'm not going first."

With that, Cheren and Bianca both walked out of the room, heading downstairs. Hilbert held the ball up to his face again. "You did great out there, Oshawott," he said to his starter. "But still..." He looked around the room. If this was what three unevolved Pokemon who were basically babies could do, he didn't want to know what the aftermath of Gold and Red's battle looked like.

Again, his thoughts drifted to the 'Legendary Trainers'. No one talked about how Brendan had nearly starved to death, lost inside of Hoenn's brutal and gruelling Victory Road, he knew. Nor did anyone talk about what happened to Red. Or how Gold actually _had_ died, frozen to death on Mount Silver after his battle with Red. All everybody ever talked about was how amazing they were as Trainers.

Sighing one last time, Hilbert followed Cheren and Bianca downstairs.

* * *

 **A/N: So how was that? I personally don't think it was that bad for my first attempt at writing a Pokemon battle, but hopefully I'll get better as we get further into the story. For those who may have been scratching their heads at the Hero 'trilogy', the last one, the Hero of the Winged Ones, is a reference to an actual fanfic. It's called The Legend of Zelda: The Winged Ones, by Lilleahwest, and I really think you should go read it. (But read it on her DeviantArt page, she's made some absolutely** _ **GORGOUS**_ **artwork to go along with it). The reason why Twilight Princess is so hated in this story's universe is because (in my eyes) Winged Ones ends on such a bittersweet-yet-incredibly-satisfying note that it eliminates the need for TP, or any sequel, for that matter. And yes, as implied in the chapter, I think Midna is ABSURDLY overrated (we're talking 'make Final Fantasy 7 characters cry' levels of overrated). And also yes, those are my actual opinions on the character, and Twilight Princess as a whole. That's right, I self-inserted my opinions in the form of a bunch of non-existent movie critics that I bring up for one single sentence and will never mention again. I know, I'm horrible. DON'T LOOK AT ME! Okay, in all seriousness, I think** _ **that**_ **particular variety of self-insertion (I.E. putting ONLY your opinions in) is fine. Right?** _ **Right?**_


	4. Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

**A/N: Okay, since we're getting into Routes in this chapter, let me explain first that all long distances in this story will be measured in kilometres. Yes, yes, I know, Unova is based on the US, and miles are used there, but here's the thing: I don't. I'm Canadian. So, kilometres it is. If anyone is confused at any point by distance in this story, there's a kilometres-to-miles converter just by searching 'kilometres to miles' on Google. By the way, there's a great remastering of the Nuvema Town theme I found on YouTube. I'll have a link to it on my profile if anyone wants to listen to it while reading.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

Hilbert could hear his mother's voice as he walked downstairs. "-at's fine, Bianca, I'm sure it's not too bad."

"Well, actually, it kind of is," Cheren said. "I assume you could hear the Pokemon from down here?"

"Well, of course I could," Hilbert's mother replied. "Even so small, Pokemon have so much power!"

"Heh, well, _someone_ kinda underestimated just _how_ powerful they could be," Hilbert said, glaring at Cheren, who gave him an apologetic look.

"Hmm," his mother said. "Maybe I should go take a look." Grimacing, Hilbert stepped aside- there was no point in delaying the inevitable, after all. His mother ascended the staircase, each of her footsteps sounding to the three friends like a death knell.

They heard her open the door to his room. For a moment, there was silence. Then, "HILBERT TOUYA! GET UP HERE!" They all winced.

"Thanks, guys," Hilbert said venomously. "Coming, Mom!" Hilbert followed in his mother's footsteps to his room, expecting the verbal lashing of a lifetime.

"What the hell happened in here!?" His mother yelled as he entered the room.

"Like Bianca said, w-we, uh, had a battle with our Pokemon," Hilbert stammered nervously, but upon seeing his mother's expression darken, he quickly added, "It wasn't my fault, okay!? They wanted to test out their Pokemon, and I tried to stop them, but they forced me into joining in!"

His mother looked around the room. Almost every piece of furniture that could possibly have been dirtied in some way was, there were holes in multiple walls, and a bookshelf was laying on its side. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to feel angry anymore. Her son was more than likely telling the truth, and he really had just cracked under the peer pressure. She looked up at the ceiling and began to laugh slightly.

"Oh, Hilbert, what am I going to do with you? Come here." She drew her child into a hug. "You're fourteen now, you can't let what other people say get to you or affect your choices. Plus, you've got a Pokemon now, that's a big responsibility; even more-so if you plan on having a team of them."

"Sorry, Mom..." Hilbert said, his voice muffled from being pressed against her chest.

She let him go, remembering something. "Oh, before I forget, I have a present for you!" She reached into her back pocket, pulling out a watch-like device. "No Trainer in Unova would caught dead without their 'Cross-Transceiver', now would they?"

"A Cross-Transceiver? Really?" Hilbert said, suddenly excited.

"Yes, it's for your journey. Try it on!"

Hilbert slipped the thick wrist strap around his wrist, buckling it into place. The Cross-Transceiver, or Xtransciever, was an essential communication device for Unova Pokemon Trainers. Basically a wearable webcam, it had four small screens, and a camera, allowing for up to four people to have a real-time video chat. The model Hilbert's mother had gotten him was a fairly standard blue, but they came in all kinds of colours.

"Thanks, Mom!" Hilbert said. His mother gave him one more hug, one that he returned this time. "I'm gonna miss you, honey. Just remember," she pointed to the Cross-Transceiver, "I'm only a screen away."

"I'll miss you, too," Hilbert said, fighting back tears and holding on a little tighter. Eventually, they broke apart.

"Your bag's all packed, right?" His mother asked. "You've got the essentials: toiletries, enough food to get you to Accumula Town, some water?"

"Yeah, it's all good. What about my room?"

"Don't worry, I'll clean it up as best I can." She gave him one last kiss on his forehead. "You just enjoy the adventure. Now go on. I'm sure your friends are getting impatient."

Bidding their final farewells, during which his mother playfully called him 'Hilbillybert', a nickname he hated, Hilbert went downstairs to meet up with Cheren and Bianca again.

"About time," Cheren said as Hilbert came down the stairs. "I had enough time to go home and get my bag while you were up there." It was true, around Cheren's shoulders were the straps of a backpack.

 _I probably should have too, now that he mentions it,_ Bianca thought.

"Let's just get going," Hilbert said, grabbing his blue messenger bag from by the door. He pulled the strap around his chest. The three friends then stepped out the door into Nuvema Town, a flock of bird-like Pokemon called Pidoves scattering as they did so. Hilbert took a deep breath, enjoying the familiarity. From the dirt paths under his feet to the guy down the way who ranted about the power of science, Nuvema Town was home.

Nuvema Town was a tiny hamlet of only seven or eight houses, not including Juniper's lab, tucked away in the southeastern corner of Unova. The Unova region itself was really three strips of land separated by massive rivers that fed into the ocean. The pieces of land, then, were stitched together by many bridges, the noteworthy ones being the Sky Arrow Bridge, Driftveil City's 'Charizard' Drawbridge, Tubeline Bridge, and Marvellous Bridge. There were other bridges, too, going to the southwestern tip of Unova, but for now, that place was largely uninhabited, with it only housing a few logging companies. Developers had expressed interest in building there, but it remained nothing more than talk and dreams at the moment. Perhaps in a few years, though, work would be started.

"Does everyone have what they need?" Hilbert asked as they walked through the town. His, Cheren's and Bianca's houses were placed in an almost perfect triangle formation, the other houses clustered around them.

"Um, not exactly..." Bianca said in a quiet voice. "I was in such a rush to get to your house, Hilbert, that I didn't bring my bag or Cross-Transceiver..."

They stopped in front of Juniper's lab. "Then go get them!" Cheren gently urged. "We'll wait here. Just don't take too long, got it?"

"Okay," Bianca nodded, rushing back to her house.

Two minutes passed. Then five. Impatient to get going, Hilbert simply said, "Wait here," to Cheren, and went off towards Bianca's house to fetch her. As he opened the door to her home- everyone in Nuvema left their houses unlocked 24/7 anyways- he could hear her father shouting.

"No! Absolutely not! I forbid it! A thousand times no!"

"B-but Dad..." Bianca snivelled, "I've already gotten my Pokemon, and had a battle with it, too! I'm ready for-"

"You WHAT!?" Her father shouted. "Don't you remember what happened to your cousin five years ago!?"

This caused Hilbert's mind to go into overdrive trying to remember the details. It was true that _something_ had happened five years ago, and Bianca _did_ have a cousin on her father's side. _But what was his name?_ Hilbert thought. _Harry, Larry..._ _something like that._

"Now, dear," Bianca's mother said to her husband, "Don't you think you're being a bit unreasonable?"

"No, I am not!" He shot back at his wife. He addressed his daughter again. "You're not going on some ludicrous quest around the region!" Seeing Bianca's eyes welling up with tears, his expression softened, if only just. "This is for your own safety, Bianca," he said firmly. "I don't want what happened with your cousin to happen with you, too."

Bianca, though, was resolute. Shaking her head and fighting back tears, she said, "No! I'm going, and you can't stop me! Just watch me, Dad! I'll become a great Trainer, and prove you wrong!" With that, she ran to the door, brushing past Hilbert with a murmured, "I'll wait by the lab," and went outside.

"Bianca..." Her father said, but it was too late, she had already slammed the door shut.

Finally, Hilbert felt it was the right time to say something. "Um, not trying to be intrusive," he walked over to Bianca's father, "But what was that all about?" Bianca's father sighed. "It's just that... I don't want her getting into similar trouble as Lucas and Barry did, that's all."

 _Barry! That was his name!_ With that one name, all the pieces came together in Hilbert's mind, like a Rubik's Cube being solved in record time.

Five years ago, in the Sinnoh region, a Trainer named Lucas Diamond, and his hyperactive friend Barry Cedric, had, by chance, been given Pokemon and went on an adventure. During their travels, they had several run-ins with a criminal organization called Team Galactic. This Team, and its leader, Cyrus, had much bigger goals than just stealing Pokemon to make money. Cyrus's ambition was to _destroy the whole universe,_ and make a new one in his image, one without emotion. By the skin of their teeth, Lucas and Barry had defeated him atop the sacred peak of Sinnoh's Mt. Coronet. Lucas had then gone on to defeat Cynthia, the Sinnoh Pokemon League Champion. The reason Bianca's father was acting so overprotective, then, was because he didn't want his daughter to potentially get in the same kinds of life-threatening situations that Barry and Lucas had.

"Oh, it's fine," Bianca's mother said. "All children leave home someday on a Pokemon journey. It's part of growing up. Besides, it said so on TV."

 _Yeah, my ass it did,_ Hilbert thought, but left the house without another word. He met up with his friends in front of Professor Juniper's lab.

"Are we ready to go inside?" Cheren asked.

"Yep, I'm good to go!" Bianca said with obviously forced pep, but there was no hiding the slightly bitter tone in her voice. Cheren put his hand on her shoulder. "Bianca, just so you know, if you need help at any point, remember, myself and Hilbert are here."

"Thanks, Cheren," Bianca said, blushing a bit.

Hilbert just shrugged; if he became the dreaded third wheel, so be it. He opened the door to the large orange roofed building, and they all filed inside. Juniper looked up from some paperwork as she heard the the door open. "Oh, hello, you three! I've been waiting!" She got up from her desk and walked towards the three friends.

Professor Aurea Juniper was a pretty young woman in her mid-to-late twenties. She had her hair done up in an elaborate bun. She wore a green skirt, a white shirt, and an off-white lab coat.

Juniper was only one of many Pokemon Professors around the world. The others were Professor Samuel Oak, of Kanto, Professor Allen Elm, of Johto, Professor David Birch, of Hoenn, Professor Ronald Rowan, of Sinnoh, and Professor Augustine Sycamore, of Kalos, whom it was rumoured Juniper had recently started a long-distance relationship with. There was also Professor Krane, in the very remote and rarely talked about desert region of Orre. More than once, Hilbert had wondered why all the Professors except Juniper were men, and much more importantly (with the obvious exception of Krane), why all their last names were trees or parts of them.

Hilbert stood in between Cheren and Bianca as Juniper began to speak. "Let's get down to business, shall we? My name is Aruea Juniper."

Cheren merely rolled his eyes. "We know who you are, Professor," he said condescendingly. "We've lived in this town since we were in diapers."

Hilbert's eyes narrowed, and he elbowed Cheren in the ribs, causing the boy to let out a pained grunt. "Don't be rude," he said sharply. "She's the reason we're going on this adventure in the first place, right? So show some respect!"

"Thank you, Hilbert," Juniper said, smiling sweetly at him. She gave Cheren a dark look that had _don't interrupt again_ written all over it, then continued speaking.

"As I was saying, my name is Aruea Juniper, the Pokemon Professor of the Unova region. I gave you three those Pokemon for a very special purpose, which I'll get to in a minute."

"Um, Professor?" Hilbert asked, shuffling his feet in embarrassment, "Not to interrupt again, but about the Pokemon..."

"Hmm?" Juniper seemed concerned. "What about them?"

Hilbert then explained exactly what happened with their starters, and why they were all currently fainted. Juniper sighed. "It's fine. They just need to be healed up. Here, let me see them for a second..." Everyone handed their Poke Balls to Juniper, who took them to a machine in the back of the room. She put them in the machine and activated it, causing the spheres to glow for a few seconds. Taking the Balls out and handing them back, she said, "It's incredible you three have already had a battle! I knew I chose right in trusting these Pokemon to you."

"Now," she went on, "As for that special purpose..." She went back to her desk and picked up three electronic devices, holding one out to show them. Hilbert immediately got a queasy feeling in his gut looking at it, having a feeling he knew what it was. "This is it. I want you to help me with my research in exchange for giving you those starters. My field of expertise is studying the origins of Pokemon. Lately though, I've found I'm in need of help. I can't do everything myself, what with how many Pokemon have been discovered. So, I want you three to gather information on the Unova region's Pokemon. And to do that, I want you to fill in pages on this... a Pokedex!"

That confirmed it. While Cheren and Bianca gasped in awe, Hilbert almost recoiled in horror. "What are you two gasping about, for the love of Arceus!?" He hissed. "You've both heard the stories, you know what trying to complete that thing did to Red!"

Red... the best, like no one ever was. The greatest Pokemon Trainer the world had ever seen. And the first one to complete a Pokedex... or rather, _almost._ There was one Pokemon, Mew, that had driven him to destruction. While Red was the strongest, he was also terribly naive and uneducated about the world's Pokemon. He _did_ know about other regions, but simply assumed that the Pokemon there were the same as the151 species from Kanto, when nothing was further from the truth.

He searched Kanto up and down, and left and right for three years, finding nothing about Mew's whereabouts. This was also around the time that Gold was collecting the Kanto Gym Badges. According to eyewitness reports, they had come close to meeting several times... but every time one got sidetracked or distracted. Eventually, Red found himself lost inside Mt. Silver, where he found Pokemon he had never seen before.

The discovery that he had been trying to fill what was essentially a bucket with a hole in the bottom drove Red to the brink of madness. When Gold had found him alone, standing on the peak of the mountain, he attacked in a rage. After he lost, Red disappeared, and hadn't been seen for nearly eight years.

It was this story and more that made Hilbert say simply, "No. I'm not doing that. There's no way in hell."

"Hilbert, be reasonable," Juniper said.

"No!" Hilbert cried. "Do you think I want to end up the same way that Red did? Emotionally destroyed, and nearly insane? 'Cause if you do, _you're_ the crazy one, Professor."

Juniper seemed taken aback by that last statement. After a pregnant silence, she simply said, "Fine. But have fun figuring out what the moves on your are Pokemon without this."

"Wait, _what?"_ Hilbert asked.

"The Pokedex is for far more than just recording data on Pokemon, Hilbert," Cheren explained with a bit of smugness to his tone. "It also lists the movesets of the Pokemon in your party, and when they're about to learn a new one. The Pokedex is your only way of seeing what Technical Machines your Pokemon can learn, as well."

"Well, you seem to have done your research, Cheren! That's exactly right!" Juniper praised him. Cheren only smirked. She turned her attention back to Hilbert. "One last thing is that a Pokedex costs a lot of money for other Trainers to get. In fact, it's the main thing holding some people back from going on a journey- their families can't afford one. And I'm offering you one for _free._ Take it or leave it."

Hilbert gave it some thought. The options seemed to be take the Dex, or blunder around not knowing what his own Pokemon's moves were. _Damn,_ he thought. _She's got me by the balls._ He looked down at the Poke Ball containing his Oshawott clipped to his belt. _Both kinds, too._

Finally, he resigned himself to his fate. "Fine, I'll take it," he said bitterly. "But just don't expect me to complete it."

"Glad to hear it." Juniper said as she handed him the dreaded device. She gave the other two to Cheren and Bianca. She then went quiet, as if trying to remember something. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Would you three like to give your Pokemon nicknames?" "Okay, sure," Cheren said. The three let their Pokemon out.

"I think I'll call you Tara, Snivy," Cheren said. The Snivy beamed in approval and admiration.

"Hmmm... Tepig, would you like to be called Toshiro?" Bianca asked her starter. The Tepig squeaked in happiness.

"As for you, Oshawott," Hilbert said, "I'll name you... Maru." " _Osha!"_ The Sea Otter Pokemon cried out jubilantly.

"Well, okay!" Juniper said. "It seems they all like their names. Good job, you three! Thank you for accepting the responsibility of the Pokedex, too. Meet me at Route 1 next, okay? I want to teach you all how to catch Pokemon."

With that, she walked out the door. The trio of friends all stared after her as the door closed. "She seems... nice, I guess," Hilbert said. "Yeah, a little short-tempered, but nice," Cheren added. _Remind you of anyone, Cheren?_ Hilbert thought.

"G-guys?" Bianca stammered, "Since the Professor asked us, it's OK to go on this adventure, right? Like, that counts as consent by an adult, and our parents won't get mad?"

"Sure, I guess," Cheren answered, a bit confused at Bianca's nervous tone. Hilbert gave him a 'don't ask' look.

An awkward silence followed, one that was broken by Hilbert saying, "Well, let's not stand around here all day. I'm going to Route 1." The three exited the lab, only to bump into Hilbert's mother right outside the door.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "There you three are! I was afraid I'd missed you."

"Mom, haven't we already said our goodbyes?" Hilbert said, at this point almost frothing at the mouth with impatience to leave Nuvema.

"Yes, we did, but there's one more thing I forgot to give you three." His mother said. In her hands were three objects that looked like small laptops. In reality, as Hilbert and his friends found out as they opened them, they were electronic maps of the region.

"Thank you, Mrs. Touya, I'll take good care of this." Cheren said politely.

"Me, too!" Bianca added.

"Well, my work looks about done here, so I'll go back to trying to clean Hilbert's Grumpig sty of a room." She gave a look to Cheren and Bianca as she said this, then walked back to her house.

"Bye, Mom!" Hilbert called.

The three then made their way over to the start of Route 1. Located directly east of Juniper's lab, which was in the northwest corner of the town, Route 1 was a kilometre and a half long path that connected to Accumula Town to the north. Patches of flowers grew on either side of the path, their petals in blooming pink due to it being spring. A light breeze kicked up, sending some petals flying through the air. All in all, it made for a very picturesque scene.

Packs of puppy-like Pokemon called Lillipup and swarms of bipedal rodent-like Patrat played in the ankle-high tall grass on this Route. This grass grew on nearly every Route in Unova, and the world, for that matter. Different species of Pokemon could be found depending on the Route, and even the season.

Hilbert was in the lead, and had almost taken his first step onto the Route, when Bianca spoke up. "Guys, wait! I have an idea."

"What is it, Bianca?" Hilbert asked, stopping. Cheren did likewise.

"Well, since we're all starting this journey together, I figure we should take our first step onto Route 1 together."

"We've all been to Accumula Town before, though, Bianca," Cheren said. "This is really nothing special."

"No, I think it's a good idea!" Hilbert said. "True, we _have_ been to Accumula Town before, but we've never gone beyond that. Besides, this is under different circumstances. We're gonna see the world this time!"

"Well, when you put it that way..." Cheren thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, let's do it."

They all stood side by side, and one Bianca's count of, "One, two, three..." took their first step onto Route 1.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Bianca exclaimed. "I feel like I'm a mile from home already!"

"I wonder what will happen to us on this journey..." Hilbert thought aloud, however unintentionally.

"Beats me, but I see the Professor up ahead," Cheren pointed a little ways up the road. "Let's go, I'm sure she's waiting."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Professor." Hilbert said as soon as she was within earshot.

"It's fine, Hilbert." Juniper replied. Around her shoulder was a backpack. "Now, to get down to business. Have you three ever seen a Pokemon being captured?"

"Only on TV," Hilbert answered slowly. "Other than that, no." "So, you do know how to capture one, right?" Juniper said. "You weaken it with your Pokemon, throw a Poke Ball once you think it's weak enough, and what have you?"

"That part, we know." Cheren said.

"So, you just need to see it in real life, right?" Juniper asked. The three nodded.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, no?" Juniper smiled. Just then, a wild Patrat scampered out of the treeline and onto the Route. "Oh, well speak of Giratina and it shall appear! Go, Minccino!" Juniper reached into her pack and pulled out a Poke Ball. Clicking the button once to enlarge it, she threw it. It opened in mid-air, and in a flash of blue light, Minccino appeared.

Minccino was a light grey chinchilla-like creature with white tips on its ears and a fluffy tail. It faced off against the rodent-like Pokemon with bulbous red eyes. "Minccino, Pound!" Juniper yelled. The Patrat squealed as Minccino dashed for it, hitting it hard with its tail. Due to the Patrat being much lower in level than the Minccino, it flew backwards a few feet, stunned. "Okay, you three, watch closely." Juniper took out another Ball- this one empty- and threw it at the downed Patrat. A red light beam shot out of the Poke Ball's button, absorbing the Patrat into it. The Poke Ball shook as everyone watched in anticipation. Once... twice... and with a third shake, the Ball let out an audible _click,_ and flashed black. The Patrat had been caught.

"And that is how it's done." Juniper said, seemingly satisfied with the catch. She returned her Minccino to its Poke Ball and went over to pick up the Patrat's.

"What are you going to do with it, Professor?" Bianca asked.

"I think I'll have this little guy help me around the lab," Juniper responded. "Now, I'll be around the Route for today to help, so if you need any assistance, just call for me. Oh, and so you can catch Pokemon as well, I've brought five Poke Balls for each of you."

She put her backpack on the ground, handing out the red-and-white spheres. Poke Balls in Red and Brendan Ruby's time were large- about the size of a baseball- and heavy, requiring a good arm to throw. However, a recent innovation had come from the Sinnoh region to improve Poke Ball technology. They were now much lighter, but the real Arceus-send was that they could be shrunk down to the size of a ping-pong ball, making storage and transporting them on your person much easier.

The three friends then split up to search for the Pokemon they wanted to catch. At Bianca's suggestion, and to help Professor Juniper, they decided to have a bit of a competition. The goal was to catch as many different species of Pokemon on the Route as possible. "And whoever has the most by the time the Professor says for us to move on to Accumula, wins!" She had said. Hilbert really wasn't concerned with the little contest, as he had no intention of even trying to complete the Pokedex. He would be catching the Pokemon he would use on his team- no more, no less. If Juniper didn't like it, too bad. He had done a bit of research in the middle of his many sleepless nights on what Pokemon he wanted to use. His main goal on the Route was to catch a Lillipup, as he heard those made for reliable Normal-types once fully evolved.

The problem was, though, he couldn't find one. "Just my luck," he grumbled to no one in particular as he trudged through another patch of grass. There was one thing he _had_ found, however: his lack of fitness. Embarrassingly, Hilbert found he couldn't sprint more than thirty feet without stopping to catch his breath. _Man, if I caught Pokemon as often as I caught my breath,_ he thought, _I'd have completed the Dex by now._ He kept Maru in his Poke Ball, bringing him out only to battle the occasional wild Patrat that got in his way. Bringing a Pokemon out of its Poke Ball in any circumstances other than a battle was illegal in Unova. On the flip side, in other regions, like Johto, it was encouraged.

Suddenly, he heard Bianca's voice yell, "P-professor! Come quick! I-I did it!" Hilbert turned around and followed where Bianca's voice had come from- about the middle of the Route, where a river leading to the ocean began. Professor Juniper and Cheren were both running to the same location, as well.

"What is it, Bianca?" Juniper asked.

"I caught this." Bianca said, her voice shaking slightly. In either one of her hands was a Poke Ball. She opened the one in her left hand, and, much to Hilbert's dismay, a Lillipup appeared.

"Oh, congratulations, Bianca!" Juniper praised her. "Check your Pokedex, it should have its information in there now. It'll tell you that Lillipup's gender, as well."

"Okay," Bianca said. She took her Dex out of her purse, scrolling down to Lillipup's entry and read it out loud. "Lillipup, the Puppy Pokemon. The long hair on its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings. And apparently, it's a female."

"Would you like to give it a nickname?" Juniper asked. "You can give any Pokemon you own or catch a nickname as soon as you get it."

"Sure," Bianca replied. She thought for a second before saying, "I'll call her Pepper." The Lillipup yipped, happy with its name. After another round of congratulations, Hilbert and Cheren both went off to find themselves something to catch. By now, it was nearing noon, and Hilbert was starting to get worried. Juniper wanted them to move on to Accumula Town by the end of the day, and after that, they would all be on their own. He stopped to take a rest, eating a granola bar from his bag and taking a swig of water.

Another ten minutes went by with no sign of a Lillipup when Cheren's voice called, "I got something!" Groaning, Hilbert went to where Cheren's voice had called from, a little down the way from where he was. Juniper and Bianca had gathered as well. "What did you catch, Cheren ?" Juniper asked.

"This." Cheren said proudly. He took a Poke Ball off his belt. He opened it, and a purple and white cat-like Pokemon called a Purrloin appeared. Unlike with Bianca, however, Juniper gasped in horror. "What is it, Professor?" Cheren asked. "Is this not a good Pokemon?"

"No, no," Juniper said, still in shock. "There's always potential, depending on the Trainer, but wild Purrloin aren't even supposed to live on this Route! They only appear past Accumlua Town!" She shook her head. "This is very serious, Cheren. You might have prevented an invasive species by catching that thing, but there might be more."

Juniper turned to Hilbert and Bianca. "I'm sorry about this, but we have to get going to Accumula Town now. I need to inform wildlife authorities, just in case this wasn't a fluke."

"But I haven't caught anything yet!" Hilbert complained.

"There's nothing I can do about that, Hilbert," Juniper said sternly. "Maybe you'll run into something you want on the way, but if not, you'll have to wait until Route 2."

"Dammit," Hilbert cursed.

Cheren recalled Purrloin to its Poke Ball. As they walked, he held it up to his face, trying to think of a nickname. "Could be a potentially invasive species, and it's a Dark-type," he thought out loud. "Wait, I know! I'll name you Interloper!"

"Not bad, Cheren," Juniper said. Hilbert, meanwhile, was looking down at the ground, a dejected expression on his face. He had badly wanted to catch a Lillipup, but that didn't seem like it would be an option just yet. Accumula Town was in view, on top of that, and Route 1 was coming to an end.

"Alright, remember that little contest we were having?" Bianca said as they neared Accumula Town. "It's time to tally the results."

"Well, obviously we both have two Pokemon, Bianca," Cheren said, smirking. "So that means that Hilbert-"

Just then, they heard a canine-sounding yipping coming from behind them. Hilbert turned and ran back down the path, Cheren, Bianca, and Juniper following him. It wasn't long before they came across a Patrat and Lillipup fighting- and it looked like the Patrat was winning. The Lillipup yowled in pain as the Patrat Tackled it. Hilbert pulled Maru's Poke Ball from his belt. "Maru, attack the Patrat with Tackle!" The Patrat whipped its head in the direction of the human's voice, but didn't have enough time to react before Oshawott slammed into it, knocking it back a few feet. It growled, getting back up. The injured Lillipup, instead of fleeing, looked at the Pokemon who had saved it with interest.

The Patrat ran at Maru, intending to Tackle him into submission just as it had done with the Lillipup. "Maru, dodge!" Hilbert commanded. Oshawott just barely jumped out of the way as the Patrat barrelled past it. "You know what to do, Maru, keep at it!" Hilbert yelled. Juniper blinked, impressed by Hilbert's unwavering confidence and skill at commanding his Pokemon. _He is gifted, I'll give him that._ She thought. _He has potential to go far._

With one more Tackle from Maru, the Patrat went down. "Okay, Lillipup," Hilbert said, pulling a Poke Ball out of his bag, "You're mine." The Lillipup squealed, but it was too late, the Ball was already flying at it. It was absorbed inside, and due to its previous injury, it couldn't escape the Ball. It shook three times, and clicked. Smirking, Hilbert turned his head towards his glasses-wearing friend. "You were saying, Cheren?"

Smiling, Hilbert recalled Maru, and picked up the Ball containing his new Lillipup. "I think I'll call you Logan." He checked the Pokedex, and sure enough, it was a male.

"Excellently done, Hilbert!" Juniper clapped. "But we really do need to be going." With that, they walked back, this time, into Accumula Town.

"So..." Hilbert spoke smugly, "Two for two, on all of us?" Cheren just groaned.

* * *

 **A/N: To tell the truth, I had originally planned to reference Ash in this chapter, maybe as a serial killer or serial rapist that it was reported on TV the police had finally apprehended, but I decided against that. Not because that would be too violent, Good Lord, no, but because to even reference Ash would be to acknowledge his existence, and I wasn't even going to give him that small amount of dignity. Because Ash. Does not. Exist. There is only Pokemon Trainer Red. That is all.**


	5. Chapter 3: The Child of Pokemon, N

**I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 3: The Child of Pokemon, N

* * *

It was around high noon when Juniper and her young proteges walked into Accumula Town. The town in question was a fairly small but charming place. It held several apartment buildings, and a Pokemon Center, a boon for all Trainers, both new and veteran. It was also the beginning of all roads in Unova, with one behind the Pokemon Center going directly north to Striaton City.

However, walking on these roads, at least the ones that connected the towns and cities, was illegal, and this law was enforced with almost draconian strictness. If you were caught walking on any road going between towns, you would, depending on your age, face a hefty fine, jail time, or both. The reason for this was because the roads were vital in keeping the Pokemon Centers of Unova supplied, as well as how dangerous walking on them was due to traffic.

Despite the Pokemon Center, there really was no good reason for people to visit Accumula. It had no Gym, almost no points of interest, and aside from the Pokemon Center only a small, family-run grocery store, which was where residents of both Nuvema and Accumula got their food, next to no opportunities for jobs. Put all these factors together, and you had a recipe for a slowly shrinking population. More and more people, as they became adults, moved away from Accumula to find work in other cities, such as Striaton, or the massive Castelia.

All of these problems, though, did not concern Hilbert. It was none of his business what happened to the town; he was only one novice Trainer, how could he change the world? "Okay, you three, keep up," Juniper said. "Our first stop is the Pokemon Center." She led them to a glass building that was several stories tall and painted with red accents. Walking through the automatic doors, they entered the Pokemon Center for not the first, and certainly not the last, time in their lives.

"I assume you've all been in here before, or at least know how the Centers work?" Juniper asked.

"Yes, we've been inside before, Professor," Cheren said, nodding.

"Yeah, once," Hilbert added. "We _might_ need a refresher, just in case." "Well then, I'll give you the fifty-cent tour," Juniper said. The interior of the Accumula Town Pokemon Center was identical to all others with the exception of Castelia. Off to the left was a large lounge/cafeteria area cordoned off with glass panels. Benches and tables could be found there. Juniper wasn't really concerned with this, though, leading the three Trainers to the desk at the back of the room. Behind the desk, a nurse staffed a machine similar to the one they had seen Juniper use in her lab. "This lady here will heal your Pokemon. It's an essential government-run service. Hilbert, why don't you go first?" Juniper said.

"Welcome to our Pokemon Center!" The nurse said as Hilbert stepped up to the counter. "Would you like me to heal your Pokemon?"

"Yes, actually," Hilbert said, handing her his Poke Balls. "My Lillipup got really beaten up."

The nurse took them and put them in the machine behind her. "Okay, just wait a few seconds, and they'll be as good as new." The Poke Balls flashed brightly a few times, then the nurse handed them back to Hilbert. "Here you go! We hope to see you again!"

Hilbert thought that was a bit of an odd thing to say, but nevertheless stepped aside to let Cheren have his turn.

As his friend handed the nurse his Pokemon, Hilbert's curiosity got the better of him. "Um, can I ask you something?"

The nurse turned her head to look at him. "Yes, what is it?"

"I was wondering how that machine works."

"Oh, this?" The nurse gestured to the healing machine behind her. "It basically works by injecting the Poke Balls with a special type of Full Restore medicinal spray." At Hilbert's alarmed expression, she giggled. "Oh, no, it doesn't actually penetrate the Ball with a needle, just uses tubes to spray the Ball."

Taking Bianca's Pokemon next after saying the requisite 'we hope to see you again' to Cheren, she asked, "Are you a new Trainer?"

"Yeah, I am," Hilbert replied.

"I can tell," the nurse said. "New ones usually ask that question." She handed Bianca her Pokemon back.

"I remember everything else in here, so I don't need to shown around," Cheren said, and walked to the door. He bid goodbye to his friends and Juniper, then headed out the door.

"Well, alright then," Juniper said. She turned to Bianca and Hilbert. "Next, I'll show you two the PC." Next to the counter, on the left, was a computer with a huge monitor. "This is free for any Trainer to use. An account for this was automatically created as soon as you got your Trainer Cards. You can store Pokemon in your PC boxes or select Pokemon stored in your PC boxes to take along with you."

 _Yeah, like I'll use this ever,_ Hilbert thought, rolling his eyes. Bianca booted up the PC by pressing a button on its keyboard. Noticing something about the menu that appeared, she spoke up. "Professor, it says 'Someone's PC' on the screen. Who's Someone?"

"Good observation, Bianca," Juniper said. "'Someone' is the person who made the Pokemon Storage System for Unova. I'm sure you'll meet her on your travels."

Next, she pointed to the second floor, which was more of a mezzanine above the front desk. "Up there leads to the rooms Trainers can stay in. It's free, but only for twenty-four hours after you first check in. The rooms aren't the greatest, either, but they get the job done." She led them over to the right, where a counter was. On the far wall behind the counter, a shelf packed with various goods stood. "This is the Poke Mart. This is the place to buy items you'll need for your travels, as well as sell the ones you don't need anymore."

Juniper gave Bianca and Hilbert a serious look. "Are you sure you'll be good from here on out?" "Don't worry, Professor, we'll be fine," Hilbert said. "Okay, I'll be heading back to Nuvema Town then," Juniper said.

As Juniper turned to leave, she remembered something. "Oh, yes, when you get to Striaton City, be sure to meet an inventor named Fennel. She's a friend of mine from years ago, and she'll help you along." With that, Juniper exited the Pokemon Center, going back to Nuvema Town.

"Well, since we're here, we should probably buy some supplies for the road," Hilbert said to Bianca. He purchased two Potions from the man at the counter, but Bianca only bought one. While Bianca stayed behind to check out a few rooms in the Pokemon Center, Hilbert decided to explore the town a bit.

Accumula Town was mainly built like an upside down and sideways 'L', with the grocery store to the north, along with some apartment buildings also in that direction. A flight of stairs to the southwest led to a lower courtyard, where a couple of apartment buildings were. The direct opposite of that was a house on a man-made concrete hill next to the road. Hilbert could hear pleasant music wafting out of the house as he walked into the grocery store.

He bought a bag of gummy worms for the Route to Striaton City- not the most healthy snack, but it would do nonetheless. Exiting the store, he overheard two of Accumula Town's residents talking. "It looks like something's going on in the plaza!" One man said to another. "Well, let's go see what it is," the other responded.

Intrigued, Hilbert followed them both south, to an open area that over looked the courtyard. "What the hell..?" He said as he got closer. A large group of people had gathered in front of the plaza, with Cheren already there. Spotting Hilbert, he waved him over. Hilbert took a spot beside Cheren to get a look at what was causing all the commotion. The answer was quite simple: a line of seven people dressed in what looked like medieval garb standing in the plaza. Their outfits were unlike any clothing Hilbert had seen before in his life. They wore grey-blue boots and gloves, hooded shirts with short, cone shaped sleeves, and over that, they had somewhat apron-like tunics with a shield emblem on the chest. This same emblem was also on two flags they had set up on either side of their formation. The emblem consisted of a half black and half white shield with a zigzagging blue line through it, and blue capital letter 'P' over that.

Just like when Juniper had shown him the Pokedex, Hilbert got a bad feeling just looking at the emblem. More eye-catching (and intimidating) then the strangely dressed people, however, was the man who stepped out in front. He was massive, easily over six feet tall, with odd green-coloured hair, and an outfit that put his followers to shame in strangeness. It was a complex purple and yellow cloak or robe, with eye-like designs on either side. The top of the robes had a huge metal ornamentation that resembled the battlements of a castle, and looked very heavy. The man didn't seem bothered by the weight of his clothes, however. He also had a red glass patch covering his right eye, presumably to hide an injury.

The crowd quieted as the man began to speak. "First of all, I would like to thank everyone who is here today." He began in a deep, yet not overly threatening voice. "You may be wondering who I am, and what I, and my colleagues, are doing here. The answer is quite simple. My name is Ghetsis, and I am here as a... representative of Team Plasma."

"Team Plasma!?" came a voice from the crowd. "You mean, like all the other Teams such as Team Rocket?"

Ghetsis merely gave a warm smile. "Yes, and no. While it's true our organization has the word 'Team' in its name, criminals we are not. In fact, we exist for the betterment of the creatures whom we humans use as... partners." He seemed to spit the last word out with revulsion. "The reason we are here today, ladies and gentlemen, is to discuss the idea of Pokemon Liberation with you."

 _Pokemon Liberation?_ Hilbert thought. _What is this guy talking about?_ The crowd seemed to agree, as discontented murmurs broke out.

Ghetsis walked to the left a few paces as he continued. "I'm sure most- if not all- of you believe that we humans and Pokemon are partners that have come to live together because we want, and _need_ each other, correct? However..." Ghetsis paused for dramatic effect, "Is that really the truth? Can it be that we humans... only assume this is the truth?"

Hilbert opened his shout something along the lines of, "That's ridiculous!" but stopped when Cheren grabbed his arm.

 _"Don't,"_ Cheren whispered, _"You'll make of a fool of yourself."_

Ghetsis paced down to the right this time before he kept going. "Pokemon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... they get pushed around when they are our so-called 'partners' at work. Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" Ghetsis then went quiet, allowing everyone to mull over his words. It was true that abusive Trainers existed, particularly in the aforementioned Teams like the Rockets, but no such criminal empire was in Unova. At least... not that anybody knew of.

Ghetsis paced down a couple more steps, turning to face roughly where Hilbert and Cheren were standing in the crowd. Though he was still addressing everyone as a whole, Hilbert couldn't shake the feeling that Ghetsis was speaking directly to him. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokemon are different from humans. They are beings that contain unknown potential. They are living creatures from which we humans have much to learn. Now tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokemon?"

There were whisperings amongst the people as they debated about the points that Ghetsis had made. However, Ghetsis gave them the answer before anyone could raise their voice. He walked to the left, back to his original position. "That's right!" He shouted. "We must liberate the Pokemon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokemon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to reconsider your views on the relationship between people and Pokemon... and the correct way to proceed."

With a small nod of thanks, he ended his speech, saying simply, "We of Team Plasma sincerely appreciate your attention." The two underlings nearest to the flags picked them up, then with military-like precision, the grunts formed a protective formation around Ghetsis, and walked out of the plaza to exit the town.

As soon as they were out of sight, the people, including Hilbert and Cheren, immediately began conversing about what they had just heard. "About that speech..." One man said, "What do you think we should do?"

"Liberate Pokemon?" Another muttered, "That's not even possible!" Still wondering about the speech, the crowd disbanded. Hilbert and Cheren stayed put, not even noticing the person approaching them.

"Your Pokemon..." He abruptly cut in to their conversation, "Just now, it was saying..." Both friends turned to look at this newcomer. He was tall, at nearly six feet, Hilbert estimated, with very long green hair, just like Ghetsis, except his was trapped under the cap he wore. He wore tan pants, a white shirt, and a black undershirt beneath that. A necklace that looked a planet with two rings was around his neck, and hanging off his belt was what seemed to be a gold coloured Rubik's Cube with all its centre pieces missing.

"Huh?" Cheren questioned. "Slow down, you talk too fast. I just barely caught that."

"Yeah, and what's this about Pokemon talking?" Hilbert added. "They can't talk, at least not like we can. They can only say their names."

"Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself," the green-haired teen said, not slowing his speech patterns one bit. "That's what people do when they meet, isn't it? My name is N."

" _What kind of a name is N?"_ Hilbert whispered to Cheren, who only elbowed him in the ribs.

 _"Don't be rude."_ Cheren whispered back, clearly happy to get revenge for Juniper's lab. Cheren stuck his hand out to shake N's. "It's nice to meet you, N. My name is Cheren, and this my friend Hilbert." N merely stared at Cheren's outstretched hand, making no move to shake it. "O-kay," Cheren said slowly, lowering his hand.

"So, you can't hear the voices of Pokemon either... how sad." N said.

"Well... no, we can't." Hilbert said. "We were asked to complete the Pokedex by Professor Juniper, and we just left on our journey a few hours ago," Cheren explained. "My main goal is become the Champion, though."

"The Pokedex, eh?" N asked. He gave them a look that some would say was almost accusatory. "So... you're going to confine many, many Pokemon in Poke Balls for that, then?"

"Um, for the record, I won't," Hilbert said, giving an innocent little wave. "I don't even _want_ to complete the Dex, to be honest."

"But, you both are Trainers, are you not?" N asked. Hilbert and Cheren both nodded.

"I am, too, but I can't help but wonder if Pokemon are really happy that way. They know nothing but conflict as soon as they're caught by Trainers." N said.

"You're sounding like those Team Plasma weirdos now." Hilbert chuckled.

Anger quickly flashed across N's face. "Those 'weirdos' as you so callously put it have, in my opinion, the right idea," he said. "It's true that while I am against battling Pokemon, I've found that's the best way to hear their voices. If that's what it takes to hear yours- Hilbert wasn't it?- then that's what I'll do."

N pulled a Poke Ball out from behind his back and pressed the central button. A Purrloin appeared, the same Pokemon Cheren had caught. "O-okay," Hilbert said tentatively. He wasn't sure of N's skill level, nor the level of the Purrloin, but there was no backing out of or refusing another Trainer's challenge.

He pulled out Oshawott's Poke Ball from his belt, releasing his starter. "Okay, Maru," he said to his starter, "The fight in my room was just practice. This is the real deal, understand? Do your best." The Pokemon nodded. N and Hilbert both took a few steps back, giving their Pokemon some room to fight.

"Start off with a Tackle!" Hilbert yelled at Oshawott. The Sea Otter Pokemon dashed towards Purrloin, trying to smash into it. Without even needing a command from N, the Devious Pokemon dodged out of the way with speed befitting its cat-like appearance. Seeing that it had missed, Oshawott tried to stop, but tripped on its own feet and fell flat on its face.

"Counter while it's down with Scratch!" N commanded. Popping sharp claws out of its paws, Purrloin raked them across Oshawott, who cried out in pain.

" _Maru!"_ Hilbert screamed. "Come on, get up! Go for Tackle again!" Oshawott pushed itself to its feet, again running for Purrloin. Propelled by anger, it managed to get in a hit. Purrloin was knocked back a few feet. "Keep at it, Maru! Don't let up!" Purrloin raised its head in time to see Oshawott running right for it.

"Growl, Purrloin!" N yelled. Purrloin opened its mouth and let out a piercing cry that stopped Oshawott in its tracks.

Purrloin again, without a command from N, Scratched Oshawott. Hilbert could tell that Oshawott was getting weaker, and seemed like it could take only one or two more attacks before it went down. _There's no use,_ Hilbert thought. _That thing's just too fast and too high-levelled._ He glanced down at the Poke Ball containing his Lillipup. _I could send Logan out too, but I'd forfeit the battle 'cause that's an illegal tactic._ Hilbert let out a growl of his own in frustration. If Oshawott couldn't defeat Purrloin, there was no way Lillipup, who was lower-levelled, could.

N didn't seem to know or care about Hilbert's predicament, and just sighed. "I'll never hear the voice of your Pokemon when you battle like this." He shrugged. "I guess-"

"Maru, Tackle!" Hilbert cried, cutting N off. Oshawott rammed into Purrloin, sending it reeling back. Okay, it was a cheap move, Hilbert admitted to himself, but he had to win. N looked shocked that Hilbert had resorted to such a dirty move, but regained his composure quickly.

"Purrloin, Scratch!" he instructed.

"Maru, dodge it!" Hilbert commanded. Oshawott just barely got out of the way as Purrloin slashed empty air with its claws. "Maru, use Tackle one last time!" Hilbert yelled. Oshawott slammed into the Purrloin, finally knocking it out. It condensed back into its energy form, returning to the Poke Ball N held in his hand.

Breathing heavily, Hilbert ran to his starter, picking it up in a hug. "We did it, Maru! You were fantastic out there!" The Oshawott cried out in joy, throwing its arms in the air.

N suddenly looked shocked. "I never imagined a Pokemon would say that..." He mumbled. Taking a Potion out of his back pocket, he pressed it to the Poke Ball's button, administering the medicine. "You did well, my friend," he said to the Pokemon. He clicked the button four times, activating the Ball's release mechanism. "Go free, Purrloin. You've earned it."

With that, the Purrloin appeared, then dashed off towards Route 1. "Hey!" Cheren cried. "You can't let it go that way! It's an invasive species!"

"And being trapped in a Poke Ball is better?" N snapped. "As long as Pokemon are confined to _these_ ," he threw the Poke Ball away in disgust, "they will never become perfect beings."

"Then why did you catch that Purrloin in the first place?" Hilbert asked.

"The same reason other Trainers do," N said, "For protection on Routes. The difference between me and them, though, is I always let my Pokemon go."

N then seemed to remember something. "Oh, yes, you did beat me, Hilbert, so I guess an exchange of prize money is in order." He pulled a wallet out of his pocket, and took out his Trainer Card. Hilbert grabbed his from inside his jacket. Tapping small electronic chips on the cards together, an amount of money was transferred to Hilbert's account stored on his card.

As they pulled the cards apart, Hilbert was able to get a glimpse of N's Trainer I.D. number: 00002. "I wouldn't get used to doing this, even with other Trainers," N said. Hilbert looked at him, noting a slightly malevolent look in N's grey eyes. "I have to- and _will-_ change the world. I'll create a world for Pokemon without Poke Balls. I have to, because they're my friends."

N turned around and walked away, heading to the exit of Accumula Town.

"Weird guy." Cheren said once N was out of earshot. "Yeah, _really_ weird." Hilbert agreed. "Do you think we should go after him?" Cheren asked.

"Nah, there's no point," Hilbert said. "It's a day's walk on foot to get to Striaton. At least we solved one mystery, though- where your Purrloin probably came from."

Just then, Hilbert's Pokedex chirped from inside his jacket. He took it out, and looked up Oshawott's entry. "All right, Oshawott learned Water Gun!"

"See?" Cheren said. "I told you that Dex would be useful."

That night, Hilbert lay awake in the top bunk in his, Cheren's and Bianca's room in the Pokemon Center. He could hear Cheren's even breathing on the bottom bunk as he slept, while Bianca was in another bed across the room. For once, his nightmares were not the reason he stayed awake, as terrified as he was of them. Rather, it was the speech he'd heard that day, as well as N. _What was that Ghetsis guy_ really _up to?_ He thought. _And N? Could he be part of Team Plasma, as well? I've got a bad feeling about all this, and what's worse, my bad feelings have been right lately._

Closing his eyes, Hilbert fell into a not quite restful, but surprisingly dreamless, sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: There's a REASON I write this on paper like it says on my profile, folks. That Pokemon Center tour scene? A train wreck when I wrote it in Word! It- and most of the rest of the chapter- fought me every step of the way. And yet, when I wrote it on paper, the improvements simply flowed out of my pencil. Weird, huh? Anyways, I don't like copying dialogue from the game wholesale, like I did with Ghetsis' speech, but I kinda had no choice due to how important it was to the plot. I'll follow the game pretty closely, but I promise the rest of the dialogue won't be as cookie-cutter. Alright, these first five chapters were pretty much on the house, but now you gotta wait. See you all... whenever I get the next chapter done.**


	6. Chapter 4: Route 2

**A/N: Did I mention I commissioned a picture on Deviantart to promote the story? The link to it is on my profile. Go check it out. Also, the irony of the fact that I'm promoting a picture designed to promote my story blows my mind.**

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 4: Route 2

* * *

The next morning, Hilbert awoke to find Cheren and Bianca already packing their bags for the hike to Striaton City. "Is there a reason you didn't wake me up, or am I just that deep of a sleeper?" He asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "We tried, Hilbert, but when you're not having those nightmares you told us about, you sleep like a corpse," Bianca said.

"So I guess this is where we all go our separate ways?" Hilbert asked. "Well... yeah, pretty much,"

Cheren replied. "We haven't checked out of the room yet, though, so they won't kick you out of the room right away." "Great, I feel _so_ loved," Hilbert said sarcastically. "Can you two at least get out of the room so I can get dressed?"

"Fine, we're leaving," Cheren said, a hint of irritability in his tone. "Come on, Bianca." The two exited the room, allowing Hilbert to hop down off the top bunk. He ran a hand through his hair, finding it to be somewhat greasy, but not enough to warrant a shower. Besides, he could take one when he got to Striaton. He put on his pants, shirt, and jacket, then grabbed his bag and Poke Ball belt and headed out of the room.

He put his belt around his waist as he went down the stairs to the Pokemon Center's first floor. Handing back the room key to the nurse, he bade goodbye and thank you, and walked out of the Center. Cheren and Bianca were nowhere to be found as he exited the Center. Deciding he would go in the direction his friends had presumably gone, he made his way to the Accumula Town gate.

These gates were short, hallway-like structures with roofs painted a distinctive shade of green. The reason they existed in the first place was to protect towns. In the case of a mass wild Pokemon outbreak that headed for a city, these gates would seal themselves shut, keeping wild Pokemon out. They also served as information booths to tourists, as electronic screens displayed scrolling text about the region.

 _ **Striaton Gym is a restaurant where meals- and battles- are served.**_ The text read as Hilbert entered the gate. His shoes made squeaky noises on the recently waxed dull-orange floor tiles as he passed through, nodding to the attendant.

As soon as he walked out into the fresh air of Route 2, his Cross-Transceiver started ringing. He pressed a button on the side of the device to accept the call. To his surprise, the face of he last person he expected to see appeared on screen.

"Mom?" He asked. "Hi honey," his mother said. She seemed slightly out of breath, and her screen was moving, as if she was walking somewhere. "How are things going? Enjoying the journey so far?"

"I really can't call it a 'journey' yet, seeing as how it's only the second day, and I've only just now gotten to Route 2," Hilbert said. "Why'd you call so soon, anyways?" "Oh, just to talk, but I'm going to hang up now," his mother replied. "Wha-? Mom, wait-" Hilbert's mother had already terminated the connection. _Well that was weird,_ Hilbert thought. _Not to mention rude._ Just then, before he could continue walking, he heard his name being called. "Hilbert!"

He turned around, seeing his mother walk out of the gate. "Mom!? What are you doing here?" He ran to meet her. "I finally caught up to you..." she said, letting out a breath. "Look how far you've come already! I left Nuvema at around seven to get these to you." Around her shoulder was a bag. "What is it?" Hilbert asked, panting somewhat himself, even from a run as short as ten feet.

"Well, I know you've never been in the best shape," Hilbert's mother said, earning a glare from her son. "What? It's true. Luckily, when I was cleaning your room, I found these!" She put the bag on the ground and pulled out a box. Handing it to Hilbert, he opened it. Inside was a pair of shoes. They looked similar to the ones he wore now, only instead of being black, they were a much more flashy shade of fire-engine red.

"Um... thanks I guess?" Hilbert said. "I figured you'd say something like that, but these aren't any ordinary shoes," his mother said. "They're specially made running shoes. I'd explain how they work, but I think it'd be best if you just tried them out yourself."

Still somewhat sceptical, Hilbert unlaced his black shoes, and put on the red pair. "Now try running." His mother urged him. Hilbert took off into the gate. As soon as his foot touched the ground, a burst of air came out of the heel of the shoe, propelling him along. He ran full-tilt through the gate, back into Accumula Town, and then sprinted back to where his mother was standing.

The fact that he wasn't out of breath didn't hit him until he was standing in front of her. "These are incredible!" He exclaimed. "Where'd you get them from? How do they work?" His mother smiled. "They work, as you saw, by propelling the wearer along with bursts of compressed air created by your own footfalls. The mechanism is located in the heels. The instructions say someone wearing these can run for kilometres without getting tired, since they're designed to take the strain off the leg muscles."

"I love them already," Hilbert said. "Thank you so much!" He gave her a firm hug. "Just take care of them," she said as they broke apart. "These don't come cheap, plus I think they were meant to be a gift for... your father, before he left..." "Oh..." Hilbert looked down at the footwear with new found reverence. Then he nodded. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I won't replace these."

His mother gave him one last look. "Remember, no matter how far you get from home, you'll always be in my thoughts." She turned around, walking back to Nuvema Town. Hilbert looked ahead to Route 2.

Long but linear, Route 2 was an unpaved, dirt path that connected Accumula Town to Striaton City. It was clear of tall grass, but if anyone wanted to train their Pokemon, tall grass was cordoned off to the sides of the Route. Even going through the grass, the path led to the same place. Deciding he badly needed to train his Lillipup, Hilbert walked off the the beaten path into the tall grass.

Immediately spotting a Purrloin, he sent out his Pokemon. Given how his Lillipup was much lower levelled than the wild Pokemon, coupled with his limited number of Potions, led him to adopt a very cautious style of battling. He mostly relied on Leer to keep the Purrloin in place for a few seconds, then had Logan rush in and Tackle before quickly retreating. With this tactic, he was able to get out of that battle, and a few more, with Lillipup unscathed. In the process, Logan learned Odor Sleuth, which Hilbert doubted he would ever have Logan use.

To his good luck, he also found a Potion in the tall grass when his foot bumped against the plastic container. "Looks like my luck's changing," he said, picking it up and storing it in his bag. The small shoulder bag could only hold a total of ten healing items of any kind, as well as fifteen Poke Balls, plus whatever he could fit in his jacket pockets.

He continued on, defeating more wild Pokemon like Patrat, other Lillipup, and a few more Purrloin. Maru gained one more level in the course of a few more battles. The tall grass ended soon enough, and he came back out into the dirt path.

Hearing something that sounded like a scuffle up ahead, he used his new shoes to propel himself along in record time. The sounds he was hearing was actually Cheren, in a battle with another Trainer. He watched in mild interest for a few minutes as Cheren handily beat out the Trainer's Patrat with his Purrloin.

"Darn it..." The losing Trainer muttered, tapping his Trainer Card to Cheren's. "Nice match, Cheren," Hilbert said, walking up to him. "Thanks," Cheren replied. "It wasn't much of a challenge. All there are around here are Trainers even more wet behind the ears than us. In fact, once we get to Striaton, do you want to battle me again?"

"Sure," Hilbert said. "By the way, where's Bianca?" "Oh, she's probably farther up the path," Cheren said. "She was in a huge rush to get to Striaton City, so she ran ahead of me, and I lost her. Speaking of which, I gotta get going, too. Just one last thing: If you see Trainers, fight them. Other Trainers' Pokemon give a hell of a lot more experience than wild ones." "I'll keep that in mind. Bye, Cheren."

As soon as Cheren was gone from his sight, Hilbert kept going. After another half an hour of following the path, his stomach started rumbling. Realizing with a groan that he hadn't eaten breakfast before leaving Accumula, Hilbert pulled his bag of gummy worms out, and munched on them as he continued on.

He almost dropped his bag of candy when a female voice yelled, "Hey, you! Wanna battle?" Turning around, he saw a girl, about his age, running up behind him. Fumbling with putting his candy back in his bag, while simultaneously reaching for a Poke Ball, he replied, "Oh, uh, yeah sure!" The girl stuck her hand out to shake his. "My name's Mali!" She said enthusiastically. "What's yours?"

"Hilbert," he answered, shaking her hand. Mali wore an off-yellow shirt, a grey skirt that left her legs exposed, and knee-high socks under her shoes. At his name, Mali gave him a look. "Hilbert, huh? Weird name. Either way, get ready to lose!" She pulled the Poke Ball off the belt at her waist and backed up.

"Go, Selina!" Mali threw out her Poke Ball, and in a flash, a Purrloin appeared. Hilbert simply smirked. "If you think I'm scared of that, think again. Let's have a dog-against-cat battle, shall we? Logan, let 'em have it!"

"Selina, Assist!" Mali called. Purrloin's paw glowed white, while Logan braced himself for an attack. However, nothing happened, and the glow around Purrloin's paw simply fizzled and faded. "Um, alright..." Hilbert said, thoroughly confused. He didn't waste the opportunity to attack, though. "Logan, Tackle!" The Lillipup ran at Purrloin, slamming into it. Purrloin was flung backwards, landing hard near Mali.

"Selina!" Mali cried. She knelt by her fallen Pokemon, checking to see if it was okay. Purrloin opened its eyes wearily, looking at its Trainer. "Are you alright?" The Pokemon weakly got to its feet, standing on its hind legs, which Hilbert wasn't aware Purrloin could do. "Yes, we're back in this fight! Use Scratch!" Purrloin popped its claws, racing for Lillipup.

"Use Leer, then go in for the Tackle!" Hilbert commanded his Pokemon. Lillipup's eyes glowed a demonic shade of red briefly, causing Purrloin to take pause in attacking it. Lillipup then ran towards the stunned Devious Pokemon, slamming into it.

This time, when Purrloin went down, it did not get back up. "Aw, no!" Mali cried. "We lost!" She returned her fainted Purrloin to its Poke Ball. "Good match," Hilbert said, recalling his Lillipup. Mali looked at the ground with a dejected expression on her face for a few seconds, then pulled out her Trainer Card. "Well, you won fair and square, so I guess I owe you some prize money, right?" She tapped cards with Hilbert, sending just over a hundred Pokedollars to his account. "Thanks," Hilbert said. Pulling out a Potion, Mali healed her Purrloin. "Good luck farther down the road!" She said, before dashing off in the direction of Accumula Town. "You, too!" Hilbert called, then continued on.

The sun climbed higher in the sky as Hilbert kept going. The path was starting to curve gently west, close to the road- Hilbert could see the occasional truck on-route to Striaton City's Pokemon Center through the trees. Eventually, the path split into a fork; one path led through some tall grass, while the other stayed on the dirt path. Wanting to train up a little bit more, Hilbert chose to go through the grass. However, thanks to the noise of the trucks on the road, no wild Pokemon appeared.

Disappointed, he followed the path some more. As he got to the top of a small hill, the tall apartment buildings of Striaton came into view. While still several kilometres off, at least he had a destination to look to now. After trekking along for about another twenty minutes, he came across Bianca and Cheren.

Bianca was fighting another Trainer, while Cheren looked on from the sidelines. Surprisingly, Bianca was doing fine on her own, and defeated her opponent with relative ease. Bianca tapped Trainer Cards with the boy, saying, "Thanks for the battle, Roland. You did your best." Roland thanked her as well, then dashed off. Cheren congratulated Bianca as Hilbert walked up to them, clapping.

"Nicely done, Bianca. I can see you're coming along." Both Bianca and Cheren looked in his direction. "Oh, hi Hilbert!" Bianca greeted him. "How much of that did you see?" Hilbert shrugged. "Not much, honestly. I saw about the last two minutes of it. But that was more than enough."

"She's actually really good, Hilbert," Cheren informed him. "She got through that battle without a scratch on her Pokemon. I think you two would be about evenly matched in a fight." "Say... that gives me an idea," Bianca said. "Hilbert, could you have a battle with me? Please? I want to see if I really have become stronger. If your Pokemon didn't take too much of a beating from the other Trainers, that is..."

"No, it's fine," Hilbert replied. "My Pokemon are good to go." "Alright then," Cheren piped in. "This'll be an official battle, and the loser owes the winner prize money. Clear?"

"Cheren, who died and made you king?" Bianca snapped. "Not to take his side, Bianca, but those are the rules," Hilbert said. "Trainer battles aren't for friendly sparring- they're serious affairs with your money on the line." Bianca thought for a moment. Then she nodded and grabbed a Poke Ball off her belt. "Fine," she said determinedly, "Let's do this."

Figuring Bianca would lead with her Tepig, Hilbert threw out Maru. To his surprise, however, Bianca tossed out her Lillipup. "Okay, Pepper, go straight for the Tackle!" She commanded.

"Maru, dodge it!" Hilbert said. Oshawott tried to throw itself out of the way out of the charging Lillipup, but Pepper was faster, slamming into Maru. The Sea Otter Pokemon was flung back, but quickly got to its feet again. "Keep up the pressure, Pepper. Use Tackle again!" Bianca yelled. "Maru, Water Gun!" Hilbert cried as Lillipup barrelled right for his starter. Oshawott opened its mouth and shot a high-pressure stream of water at Lillipup. Force met force as Pepper collided with the attack, but water won over momentum.

Pepper was sent flying back, landing hard near Bianca. "Don't let up, Maru! Keep using Water Gun!" Hilbert called.

Pepper wearily got to her feet just in time to see another Water Gun headed straight for her. With no time to get out of the way, she was hit again. "Pepper!" Bianca cried out in alarm. "C'mon, get up! We're not out of this fight yet!" The Lillipup, sensing its Trainer's desire to win, got back up, though it was unsteady on its feet, and it looked like one more attack would make it faint.

Obviously, Hilbert took advantage of this. "Maru, Water Gun!" "Pepper, get out of the way! Duck!" Bianca commanded. Pepper immediately ducked, causing the stream of water to go over its head, grazing its ears, but causing no other adverse effects. "Now Tackle, Pepper!"

Bewildered that its attack had missed, Oshawott took the Tackle full-force. _Damn,_ Hilbert thought, _That was a good move._ Oshawott got to its feet again, shaking its head to clear the Joltik webs. "Let's finish this, Maru! Water Gun one more time!" Hilbert said. Given how Lillipup was close to Maru, it had no chance of dodging the Water-type attack.

"No, Pepper!" Bianca cried, returning Lillipup to its Poke Ball. Hesitant, but not willing to give up, she sent out Tepig next. "Um... am I in trouble?" She asked Cheren. "At this point, I'd say yes." He replied. "That is not a good matchup, typewise, by any means. I'd be careful, if I were you." Despite the advantage Hilbert had, Bianca decided to attack anyways. "Ember, Toshiro! Try to burn it!"

The ball at the end of its tail glowing white, Tepig shot a small burst of fire out of its nose. "Water Gun, Maru," Hilbert said, sounding almost bored. Another high-pressure stream of water shot from Oshawott's mouth, dousing the flames heading for it, and striking Tepig full-on. The Fire Pig Pokemon squealed as it was hit with the super-effective attack.

With one more Water Gun, it was over. Hilbert recalled Maru, Bianca doing the same with her fainted Tepig. "And that's the match!" Cheren said. Bianca took out her Trainer Card and walked over to Hilbert. "You're really tough, Hilbert," she said, tapping cards with him. "But... what am I doing wrong? Is there anything I need to improve on?" Hilbert opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Cheren. "I'd advise not focusing so much on attacking, Bianca." He said. "That one move where you had Lillipup duck? Use more tactics like that. Use more countering moves like Tail Whip and Leer, stuff like that."

"O-okay, I'll try to keep that in mind." Bianca said. She used the only Potion she had to heal her Tepig. "Now, are we ready to get going?" Hilbert asked. The three friends kept walking down the path to Striaton City, where their first Gym battle awaited.

* * *

 **A/N: As if you probably couldn't already tell by now, status debuffing moves like Leer, Growl, etc. don't work like they do in the games. Rather, as Cheren said, they're countering moves, designed to stop an attack. The reason for this is because I just don't think status debuffs work in a realistic setting. I've seen a few stories try it, and it doesn't work, at least in my opinion. Status _buffing_ moves, on the other hand, will exist, and will work much like they do in the games, but their usage will be few and far between. By the way, credit for the nickname for Mali's Purrloin goes to Tessler. Yeah, I is terrible at coming up with nicknames. **


	7. Chapter 5: Beginnings of a Rivalry

**A/N: After doing some research on Bulbapedia for Berry sizes, I'm gonna take some liberties with how big Berries are after being horrified by the sizes of some of them. I mean come on, even though you can only get it in the Dream World in Gen 5, 8.8 inches (22.3 cm) for an Ipapa Berry!?**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 5: Beginnings of a Rivalry

Striaton City, Hilbert thought, was more like it. From shops, to a vintage-looking movie theatre, to restaurants, the place dwarfed Accumula Town. It was currently the day after he, Cheren, and Bianca set foot on Route 2. They had arrived in Striaton just as the sun was going down, and so had sought accommodations in the Pokemon Center for the night. This was easier said than done; they had just barely gotten a room before someone else took it.

Making sure to wake up at the crack of dawn this time, he showered, then went for a stroll around the city, catching Cheren walk into the famous Trainer's School. At one point, without meaning to, he walked into a shady-looking back alley and was approached by a man. However, instead of robbing him or doing any number of horrible things, the man had given him a Dusk Ball- a special type of Poke Ball that worked better in a dark environment, like a cave, or at night.

While Hilbert hadn't given much thought to his future, if he ever got married and settled down, he would definitely pick Striaton to live in. After having breakfast at a small cafe, he went looking for the city's Pokemon Gym.

Gyms were very important structures for any city to have. They guaranteed a steady stream of visitors and Trainers, and defeating one was a milestone for any Trainer. On top of that, the Gym Leaders served not just as obstacles to overcome, but as the mayors for the city or town their Gym was in. Why, if a Gym Leader decided to shirk his or her responsibilities to travel with some nutcase Trainer, they would be immediately arrested and thrown in jail, likely without trial.

However, this particular Gym was not so accepting of challengers at the moment.

"What do you mean, 'closed!?'" Hilbert exclaimed to the man standing outside the Gym.

"Yep, sorry kiddo, but this Gym has been closed for over a week," the man blocking the doors of the restaurant-like building said. "Some Trainer brought in a pretty rowdy Excadrill. Did a number on the interior. Luckily for you, repairs are almost done. Come back in about an hour, and it should be all good."

Hilbert mentally cursed. While he had wanted to challenge the Gym first thing (at least after breakfast) this development had dashed his plans. Sighing, he was about to walk away when he remembered what Professor Juniper had said about Striaton.

"Do you know where someone named Fennel lives?"

The man responded he didn't know, he was just the Gym guide, forcing Hilbert to ask around town. Striaton was a bit of an oddly-shaped city, covering a decently large area of land. Basically a giant rectangle with semicircles on either end, the main part of Striaton had all the shops, eateries, and apartment buildings one could expect out of a city, with the Pokemon Center located near the exit to Route 2. The road from Accumula Town came into Striaton about fifty feet away from the Route, going directly beside the Pokemon Center, and spread out across the city from there. Small suburb-like areas were situated in the semicircles, consisting of many small houses clustered together.

Hilbert decided he'd check the Trainer's School out later, after he had spoken with Fennel. Someone finally pointed him in the right direction, and he found himself in front of an apartment building near the city's entrance. He spoke to the receptionist at the front desk to let them know why he was there, and asked what floor Fennel lived on.

She told him Fennel was up on just the second floor in room 7, so he went there. He knocked on the door, only to hear a female voice yell, "We're busy!"

Talking as loudly as he could without trying to disturb anyone, he replied, "Professor Juniper told me to find you. She said you could help me?"

Hearing footsteps approaching, and a lock being undone, the door opened a bit, held in check by a short chain. A woman with long jet-black hair and a lab coat appeared in the gap. "Professor Juniper?" she asked.

Hilbert nodded. "That's right. I'm one of the Trainers she chose to give a Pokemon to. She said to come meet you when I got here. You _are_ Fennel, right?"

"Yes, I am," the woman replied. "Unfortunately, you came at kind of a bad time. I'm right in the middle of important research, and I think I'm almost at a breakthrough! Isn't that exciting?"

"Yeah, I guess," Hilbert said. _It'd be more exciting if knew what you were researching, though,_ he thought.

Another female voice, higher-pitched than Fennel's called out then. "Sis, come quick! The images are starting to appear on the monitor!"

Fennel glanced back into the room, then looked at Hilbert. "I'm really sorry about this, but I'm gonna have to ask you to come back later, okay?" Before Hilbert could say anything else, she closed the door.

"Son of a _bitch,_ " Hilbert cursed, walking down the hallway. He exited the apartment building, heading back out into the Striaton City streets. With no other options open to him, he let his feet carry him towards the Trainer's School.

Located northwest of the Pokemon Center, in front of a fountain, the Trainer's School was just that- a place for novice Pokemon Trainers to learn the basics. Every region, even Orre, had one, though Orre's was known as the Prestige Precept Center. They were usually two or three floor buildings, teaching about Pokemon battles, Pokemon healing, and Pokemon Contests. Unova did not hold Pokemon Contests, however, so there was no floor for that.

As he walked up to the doors, someone opened them before he could touch the handles. A man with green hair that spiked up into a fringe at the top stepped out of the building, nearly bumping into Hilbert. Oddly enough, he was also dressed like a waiter, with a black vest over top a crisp white shirt, a white apron around his waist, and a dark green bow tie adorning his neck.

"Oh, uh, sorry," the man said as he exited the Trainer's School, realizing he had almost run into Hilbert. "Were you, um, going to check out the School?"

"Yeah I was," Hilbert said. "Given how everything I've wanted to do in this city is unavailable, I figured I might as well."

"Then go on in," the man replied, gesturing at the doors. "I hope you learn something, well, useful."

The man then walked down the street towards the gym. Hilbert stepped into the school, finding it to be a bit smaller than he expected. The first floor was a single large classroom, with a huge blackboard on the far wall. The walls were painted a shade of light, almost baby blue, while the blackboard wall was painted a cream colour. Bookshelves were present along some of the walls, and a staircase leading up to higher floors was in the corner of the room.

Students were busily writing notes, chatting with each other animatedly, or reading silently as Hilbert walked toward the blackboard, trying his best to blend in. Trainer's School's all over the world had a rather lax 'learn at your own pace' attitude, with the teacher giving advice or help only when explicitly asked, or when a new student enrolled.

Despite Hilbert's best efforts to appear inconspicuous, said teacher noticed him. "Ah, a new face!" He said, looking up from a book he was reading. "Come to learn a thing or two, young man?"

 _Crap,_ Hilbert thought, hesitating a second before responding. "Umm, of course." He walked over to the teacher's desk.

"Well, first of all, we give new students three Oran Berries," the teacher said, reaching into a drawer in his desk and pulling out a few blue berries, each about the size of a grape. He handed them to Hilbert, who looked at them with an incredulous expression.

"...What am I supposed to do with these?" He asked.

"You have no idea how many times I've been asked that question," the teacher sighed. "Those restore a Pokemon's health whenever it drops below half, but only if held by a Pokemon. If I can have one of your Pokemon for a second, please?" Hilbert handed him Maru's Poke Ball, as well as an Oran Berry. "Now watch this." The teacher said. He held the Berry up to the Poke Ball's central button. A thin blue beam of light shot out of the button, enveloping the fruit. In an instant, the Oran Berry had been turned into energy and sucked inside the Poke Ball. "And now, whatever Pokemon is inside this Ball is now holding the Oran Berry." The teacher concluded. "Any more questions?"

"You bet I have more," Hilbert said, still partly in awe. "How does that happen? And more importantly, what happened?"

"It's rather simple, actually," the teacher replied. "There are many items in the world- Berries included- that are made up of a similar energy to Pokemon. Simply hold up the item to the Poke Ball containing the Pokemon you want to have hold the item, and Bob's your uncle! The items most times aren't even Berries, just objects that would otherwise be useless or strange."

"But... how will I know which items I can let my Pokemon hold, and which ones I can't?" Hilbert asked.

"The same way you know what Pokemon are in which Poke Ball, despite them having no markings to differentiate them," the teacher said. "Call it 'Trainer's Sense', if you will. If you'd like, there are lessons on the blackboard to read up on."

"Alright, thanks." Hilbert walked over to the blackboard, reading up on the lessons written down on it. Currently, there were teachings about the five (non-volatile) status problems: Poison, Burn, Frozen, Paralysis, and Sleep. Out of all of them, Hilbert found Sleep and Poison to be the most insidious, as Poison gradually wore away at a Pokemon's health, even when it was in its Poke Ball, while Sleep kept it from attacking, period.

Glancing to the right, he spotted Cheren. The black-haired boy was currently reading about another lesson, so Hilbert decided to go see what it was. "So, an attacking move's power goes up by 1.5 times if it's the same type as the Pokemon using it... fascinating." Cheren muttered to himself.

"What're ya readin' about?" Hilbert asked in a friendly tone, startling Cheren, who hadn't noticed his approach.

"Wha-? Oh, Hilbert, I didn't see you there," Cheren said. He pointed to the blackboard. "This is a lesson on something I didn't know, which is the Same-Type Attack Bonus, or STAB, to use its acronym. Basically, if the type of move used by a Pokemon matches the type the Pokemon is, its power goes up. For example, your Oshawott knows Water Gun, and it's a 40 base power move, right? Well, according to this, when it uses that move, the power goes up to 45! Isn't that cool?"

"Actually, yeah, it is," Hilbert said. No page he had read on the Internet had mentioned anything like that. It would be useful to remember when he was teaching his Pokemon moves.

"Oh, by the way, one of the Gym Leaders was in here a few minutes ago talking about status problems," Cheren said. "He wrote about some of them on the blackboard."

"Well, I did run into someone coming in here," Hilbert replied. "Maybe that was the Gym Leader?"

"Did he have green hair, and was he dressed like a waiter?" Cheren asked.

"Yep," Hilbert said.

"Then that was him. The Gym Leaders of this city are three brothers named Cilan, Chili, and Cress," Cheren explained. "The whole point of their Gym is to teach novice Trainers like us the basics of type matchups and what have you. If someone more experienced comes into the Gym, they use a fully balanced team."

"The guy out front said the Gym was closed for repairs, though," Hilbert said. "Bit of a letdown there; I wanted to challenge the Gym first thing."

"Well, then why don't we have a battle to kill time?" Cheren suggested.

 _"What?"_ Hilbert hissed. "In here!? Are you nuts!? After what happened in my room!?"

"It wasn't _that_ bad..." Cheren said.

"Yes, it was!" Hilbert cried, his voice raising in volume and pitch with every word. "We fucking destroyed it!" He was about to say more, but stopped when he realized just about everyone in the room had gone silent and was staring at him, including the teacher. He got up from his desk and walked over to the two boys, a stern look on his face.

"What's going on here?" He asked. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he glared at Hilbert. "What did you- to put it in your vulgar terms, which was completely uncalled for, by the way- 'fucking destroy'?"

Hilbert looked down at his feet like a child being scolded- which he essentially was. "My room, sir. We- myself, Cheren, and another friend of ours named Bianca- had our first Pokemon battle in my room a few days ago. You can guess how that ended. And now the someone next to me just suggested we have a battle in here."

The teacher looked at them, his expression blank. After a few moments, he simply said, "That's it? That's the whole reason you got so worked up?"

"Kinda, yeah... it was pretty bad."

The man was silent for a few seconds, seemingly thinking. "Well, you weren't wrong about one thing. It is a foolish to have a Pokemon battle in a confined area, _especially_ this classroom. But there's nothing saying you can't have it outside. In fact, the students here haven't really seen a true Trainer battle, and I think it'd be a good experience if they did. If it's all right with you, can they watch?"

"As long as they stay out of the way, it's fine by me," Cheren said.

"Same here, I guess," Hilbert added.

The teacher grinned. Turning to the class, he said, "Everyone, we're going to be doing something a little different today. These two Trainers will show us how a Pokemon battle is done. Follow me outside, please."

Cheren looked to Hilbert, who just shrugged. Everybody filed out of the school, which caused a bit of a stir on the streets when fifteen students walked into the fountain plaza. They formed a rough, gappy circle around Hilbert and Cheren. Cheren took up his position with his back to the fountain, almost too close, in fact. Hilbert stood opposite to him. "Are you both ready?" The teacher asked. Neither Hilbert nor Cheren responded, only pulling out a Poke Ball.

"Go, Interloper!" Cheren yelled, sending out his Purrloin.

"Get out there, Logan!" Hilbert threw out his Lillipup. "Interloper, use Assist!" Cheren commanded. Just like in the fight Hilbert had with Mali, a white ball formed on Purrloin's paw. Hilbert had learned from that experience, though, and wasn't scared.

"Logan, use Tackle while it's vulnerable!" Lillipup dashed toward Purrloin, but to Hilbert's shock, the white glow on Purrloin's paw soon enveloped its entire body, and it too raced for Logan. The two Pokemon smashed into each other headfirst despite their Trainer's cries for them to dodge. "How!?" Hilbert cried. "I fought a Trainer on Route 2 who used that exact move, and it didn't do anything!"

"That's probably because they only had one Pokemon, Hilbert," Cheren informed him. "It's something else I learned in the school. Assist works by choosing a random move from another Pokemon in your party. On that note, Interloper, use Assist again!"

The white glow formed on Purrloin's paw again."Logan, try to dodge whatever it throws at you!" Hilbert yelled. Lillipup began zigzagging frantically, trying confuse Purrloin. This time, a thin, green vine came out of the glowing orb. Purrloin slashed it down, narrowly missing Logan, and leaving a green mark on the concrete.

"Did I mention my Snivy learned Vine Whip?" Cheren smirked. Hilbert grit his teeth. The only other moves Lillipup knew were Odor Sleuth and Leer. Odor Sleuth was completely useless in this situation, but Leer... As if on cue, Cheren had Purrloin use Scratch to do some more damage to Lillipup.

"Logan, Leer, now!" Hilbert called. Lillipup's eyes glowed red, freezing Purrloin in place. "Now go in for the Tackle!" Lillipup smashed into Purrloin, knocking it back.

Not about to let up, Hilbert had Logan go in for another Tackle, which Cheren's Purrloin countered with Growl and Stratch, damaging Lillipup. Hoping for a Vine Whip, Cheren had Interloper use Assist, but only got Leer, another move his Snivy knew, and was easily countered and defeated by Hilbert's Lillipup.

"Interloper, return!" Cheren recalled Purrloin to its Poke Ball. "Not bad, not bad," he praised. "Thanks-" Hilbert was cut off as Cheren continued. "Even if you only got the KO by luck. But Tara won't be taken down so easily!" He threw out Snivy's Poke Ball, and the Grass Snake Pokemon appeared with a flash of light.

"Tara, Vine Whip!" With speed befitting its stats, Snivy grew a green piece of foliage out of arm, and slashed it towards Lillipup. The Puppy Pokemon squealed as it was hit with the attack.

"Logan!" Hilbert cried. "Come on, try to get a hit in!" In desperation, Lillipup rammed into Snivy, knocking it back some. However, this damage ultimately didn't matter, as Snivy then began to glow. It got to its feet, appearing to be almost fully healed.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that Oran Berry!" Cheren said.

"Uh, oh," Hilbert gulped. This was seriously not good. If Logan went down, he'd be at a severe type disadvantage against Snivy. "Vine Whip, Snivy!" Cheren yelled, intending to finish off Logan fast and then simply sweep through Oshawott. At the last second, as Snivy was dashing towards Lillipup, Hilbert yelled,

"Logan, Leer!" Once again, Lillipup's eyes glowed red, and Snivy cowered in fear, stopping its advance. "Now Tackle!"

"Get outta the way, Tara!" Cheren yelled, but it was too late. Though the attack was not a knockout hit, far from it, it undid the healing the Oran Berry had given Snivy.

Inevitably, with the next hit, Lillipup went down, leaving Oshawott as Hilbert's only Pokemon left. Hilbert held Maru's Poke Ball up to his face. "I'm countin' on you, Maru." He threw out Oshawott, the Water-type looking understandably nervous after it realized it was up against a Grass-type. Going for the best option he had that wasn't Water Gun, Hilbert commanded Maru to use Tackle.

Cilan walked out of the Gym, feeling satisfied. Dealing with the aftermath of the 'Excadrill Incident' as he and his brothers were now calling it, had been very annoying, but now the repairs to the Gym were finally done. He couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy towards the Elite Four- what with their technologically advanced battling rooms, capable of automatically fixing anything short of a bomb blast within seconds.

He headed towards the Trainer's School to let everyone know the good news, but when he got closer, he could hear shouting and Pokemon cries. Seeing a small crowd gathered near the fountain, he picked up his pace to a slow jog. Once he got close enough, he saw the cause of the commotion: two boys having a Pokemon battle. He recognized them both. One, the black-haired boy, had sat in on his lecture about status problems, while he had bumped into the other while walking out of the school.

The black-haired boy currently had the upper hand with his Grass-type Pokemon, Snivy, versus the baseball-capped boy's Oshawott. The Snivy was running circles around Oshawott, using Vine Whip over and over again whilst the Oshawott struggled to dodge, though it was doing a decent job of it. He noticed the expressions on each boy's face: a sheer desire to win, mingled with adrenaline. The baseball-capped boy, however, seemed to be the slightly more desperate of the two, so he decided to help out.

He made his way over to the baseball-capped boy, much to awe of the crowd, who whispered, "It's Cilan!" or, "What could the Gym Leader be doing here?"

Hilbert was deaf to all this, however. His mind was totally focused on winning the battle, but it didn't seem like that would be feasible at this point. Oshawott had already used its Oran Berry, and was low on health- two more attacks would take it out. Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned his head around, coming face-to-face with the same man he had seen walk out of the Trainer's School earlier. "Um, if I may, I have some advice for you," the man said. Hearing Oshawott cry out, Hilbert whipped his gaze back to see the Water-type get hit with Vine Whip.

"Okay, any advice, I'd love to hear it!" Hilbert said. In the heat of the moment, he forgot who the man was.

"Well," Cilan said,"Your Oshawott seems to very low on health, and that _should_ have activated its ability, um, Torrent."

"What good is that!?" Hilbert shrieked, then immediately called for Oshawott to dodge another Vine Whip.

Cilan just sighed. "It boosts the power of Water-type moves when your Oshawott is low on health. Even if that Snivy is in good health, one Torrent boosted Water Gun should do, uh, significant damage, if not get the KO outright."

 _Well, what have I got to lose?_ "Alright, Maru! Use Water Gun!"

"Vine Whip, Snivy! Stop that thing!" Cheren called.

Oshawott opened its mouth and shot an incredibly powerful stream of water at Snivy. Even though the attack was not very effective, it propelled the Grass Snake back with so much force, it slammed into Cheren's chest and sent them both tumbling into the fountain with a splash.

"Oh, no." Hlibert immediately ran up to the fountain, along with some people in the crowd, helping Cheren out of the fountain. The black-haired boy coughed and sputtered, water dripping off his now soaked clothes. "I am so sorry, Cheren," Hilbert said quickly, mortified.

Cheren merely scoffed. "Save it," he muttered darkly, taking his Trainer Card out of his jacket and tapping it against Hilbert's.

He then hastily ran off to the Pokemon Center to avoid any more embarrassment. "Well, that certainly was a heated match," the teacher said, walking up behind them. "Congratulations on winning... wait, did I ever get your name?"

"It's Hilbert," Hilbert said, shaking hands with the teacher.

"Well, Hilbert, you certainly put up a good fight. A hard-earned victory, to be sure."

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without his help," Hilbert replied, pointing at Cilan. "Oh, think nothing of it," Cilan said humbly. "The reason I'm out here in the first place is to tell everyone the Gym is, well, re-open for business. And I'd love it if you," he spoke directly to Hilbert, "would be our first challenger."

Hilbert was about to reply, but his stomach beat him to it by rumbling loudly. "Someone's hungry," Cilan noted. "Don't worry, our Gym also doubles as a restaurant! Uh, follow me." Seeing no reason to argue, Hilbert followed Cilan down the street to the Gym... unaware that a fuming, and still dripping-wet Cheren was watching from a distance, his hands clenched into tight fists.

* * *

 **A/N: Next chapter is the first Gym Leader battle and Gym, so it's pretty much gonna be wall-to-wall action. If you're wondering how I'll handle Gym Trainers, this will be the only Gym where they're actually fought. All the others, I'll either summarize, or the Gym will be nothing more than the fight itself. I think the Gyms will get LESS crazy in design the further we get into the story, ironically enough.**


	8. Chapter 6: The Three Leaders of Striaton

**A/N: Well, here we are, the first Gym battle! Just to let everyone know, I've got a link to a remastered Unova Gym Leader theme on my profile. This'll be the standard Gym Leader battle theme for pretty much the entire story, so I hope you enjoy! Also, I'm gonna say screw it with NPC trainers nicknaming their Pokemon from now on. I don't have the time, patience, or imagination to come up with hundreds of nicknames.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 6: The Triple Leaders of Striaton

The food that Striaton Gym served was excellent. Hilbert hungrily dug into his lunch- a bagel BLT served with a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. Not only was the food great, it was inexpensive, at least for him, as all Gym challengers received a 50% discount.

The Striaton City Gym was set up like a four-room restaurant. Each room was separated by a curtain with a symbol of a Pokemon element embroidered onto it. In the room Hilbert was sitting in, the symbol was fire. Hilbert gulped down the last of his orange juice as a waitress came up to his table. "Enjoy your meal?" she asked, taking his empty plate away.

"Oh, man, it was fantastic," Hilbert said. He chuckled, "I could eat here every day for the rest of my life."

The waitress just smiled, "Why thank you. Ready to begin your Gym challenge now?"

"Absolutely," Hilbert said.

"Okay, then. Simply- well, no, I won't spoil how this Gym's puzzle works. Have fun, and good luck!" She then walked off to a side door, presumably leading to kitchen, and disappeared inside.

Hilbert took several deep breaths to calm himself as he stood up. He took stock of his supplies and the moves his Pokemon knew. He still had the Potions in his bag, and had given Oshawott and Lillipup his remaining two Oran Berries, as an insurance policy. On top of that, Lillipup had learned a new move after the battle with Cheren, the Dark-type Bite, that rounded out its moveset. It was more powerful than Tackle even without STAB, at base 60 power, so it would be Logan's main attack until it learned something better.

In front of each curtain were three large buttons set into the floor. On these buttons, was a water symbol, a grass symbol, and a fire symbol identical to the one on the curtain. "So," Hilbert muttered to himself, "This is obviously about type matchups, but is it testing me on advantages, or disadvantages?"

Figuring he'd just pick the water button and hope for the best, he gingerly stepped on it. A loud _ding_ was heard, and the curtain began to move, folding up as it split apart, revealing itself to be on a track in the floor, probably to make sure people couldn't cheat by just walking through it. "That's it?" Hilbert said. "If that's the whole puzzle of this Gym, then getting the Badge will be piss easy."

Beyond the curtain was another room with tables placed here and there. The three buttons on the floor were also present on the far end. The curtain in this room showed a raindrop symbol. He entered the room, only to nearly jump out of his skin as someone said, "Ah, a challenger!" He looked left, seeing a waiter walking towards him, Poke Ball in hand.

Heart still beating wildly from the shock, he grabbed Maru's Poke Ball off his belt, readying it. "Would a warning be too much to ask for?" he snapped, a little more harshly than he intended.

The man shrank back a little. "Sorry. But you didn't think getting to the Gym Leaders would be easy as stepping on a few switches, did you? Here at Striaton Gym, we serve up a three-course meal of Pokemon battles, and I'm the first!"

He backed up to give his Pokemon some more room, then threw his Poke Ball. "Go, Lillipup!" The Puppy Pokemon that Hilbert had grown used to seeing appeared in a flash of light.

Hilbert took a moment to decide what Pokemon he wanted to use, but ultimately chose to keep Maru in reserve, throwing his own Lillipup into the fray.

The waiter began the battle with an unusual tactic. "Lillipup, use Leer!"

The enemy Lillipup's eyes glowed a fierce shade of red, freezing Hilbert's Lillipup in place. "Now go in for the Bite!" The other Lillipup opened its mouth, revealing fangs that looked surprisingly sharp, and raced for Logan.

"Logan, shake it off! Tackle that thing!" Hilbert called, having no desire for some part of Logan's anatomy to end up in the other Lillipup's jaws. Logan shook his head, the effects of the Leer wearing off, then yelped as the enemy Lillipup clamped its teeth around the sensitive hair on Logan's face. Logan yowled in pain.

"Logan!" Hilbert cried. "Get outta there, shake it off!" Logan shook his head back and forth, but the offending Lillipup merely growled, refusing to release its hold.

 _Okay, time for some unorthodox tactics,_ Hilbert thought. "Logan, run headfirst for a wall! Slam into it!"

Wanting to get rid of his attacker by any means necessary, Logan ran for the far wall, the bewildered enemy Lillipup still holding on. Its Trainer, however, wasn't as dumb.

"Lillipup, let go, now!" The attacking Lillipup immediately released Logan from its jaws vice-like grip, only to be on the receiving end of a Bite attack itself as Hilbert commanded his Lillipup to use the move.

"Get back, Logan!" Hilbert said. Logan let go of the other Lillipup, quickly backpedalling.

"Use Bite!" The waiter commanded.

 _That's exactly what I was hoping you'd do,_ Hilbert thought. "Logan, Leer!" Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing the charging Lillipup in place. "Now Bite!" Logan raced for the helpless Lillipup, snapping its teeth on the opposing Pokemon. The other Lillipup was higher levelled than Logan, though, and was able to shake him off.

"Leer!" The two Trainers commanded simultaneously. Both Lillipup's eyes glowed red, freezing them both in place.

"Shake it off, Logan! Bite!" Hilbert called.

"Come on, Lillipup!" The waiter yelled. Logan, however, recovered just before the waiter's Lillipup, and ran towards it, biting ferociously. The Bite attack proved too much for the enemy Lillipup, and it fainted, returning to its Poke Ball.

"Dang," the waiter said. "I thought I could beat you." He took out his Trainer Card, tapping it to Hilbert's.

"You did give it your best shot," Hilbert said. "Am I allowed to leave the Gym and go to the Pokemon Center to heal up?"

"Of course," the waiter replied. "We'll have to reset the puzzle, though. It's standard operating procedure. Good news is, you won't have to fight me again."

"That's a relief," Hilbert sighed. "I'll be back soon."

He ran out of the Gym, heading towards the Pokemon Center, and was back within ten minuets. He once again pressed the water button, and walked through the adjacent room, saying hello to the waiter, and pressed the green button with a leaf on it to open the blue curtain.

Being much more cautious, he poked his head into the next room, seeing a waitress seated at one of the tables. She was probably another Trainer employed by the Gym, he thought. Seeing no reason to be stealthy, he simply walked into the room. The waitress's head perked up at the sound of his footsteps.

"Oh, well hello again!" she said. "So you made it past Maxwell, hmm?" She stood up and walked over to him.

"Yeah, I did," Hilbert said with a bit of pride underlying his tone. "Say, aren't you that same waitress that served me earlier?"

"That I am!" she said. "Name's Tia." She offered her hand out, which Hilbert shook. Her expression then turned more serious as she backed up, grabbing a Poke Ball. "Now, as much as I enjoyed serving you, and the complements you gave me, I still have to keep you from getting to the Gym Leaders. And to that, I have to kick your ass in a Pokemon battle. Go, Patrat!" She threw out her Poke Ball, and the red-eyed, rodent-like Pokemon appeared.

"Okay, then, challenge accepted! Go, Logan!" Hilbert once again sent out his Lillipup.

"Logan, use Bite! Let 'em have it!" Hilbert yelled.

"Bide, Patrat! Quick!" Tia cried. Patrat tensed its muscles, enduring the hit. The attack took off a chunk of its health, but it wasn't down.

Logan backed off as Hilbert yelled, "What are you making that thing do? It's not even attacking!"

Tia smirked. "You'll see. Just try to attack, I dare ya!"

Hilbert didn't like the sound of that, but couldn't ignore the possibility of an easy KO. "Logan, Bite again!"

Logan bared his fangs, racing for Patrat and chomping down on it. Though Patrat endured yet again, it was getting noticeably weaker. As Logan backed off, Tia yelled, "Now, Patrat! Double the damage!"

A yellow glow surrounded Patrat for a split second, then with speed that Hilbert swore broke the sound barrier, charged towards Logan, ramming into him so hard he shot across the room and left a large dent in the far left wall.

" _WHOA!"_ Hilbert yelled. "Logan, return, now!" He quickly recalled the Lillipup to his Poke Ball, then whipped his head in Tia's direction. "What the hell was that!?"

"That," Tia smiled, "Was Bide. It's a rather useful move, at least on lower-levelled Pokemon. The Pokemon that uses it can't attack until it's been hit twice, but in return, it inflicts double what it's been hit with."

"Wow," was all Hilbert could say. However, he was now in a bit of a tight spot. He could see another Poke Ball on Tia's waist, and he only had Maru left to try and sweep.

"Go, Maru!" In a flash of light, the Sea Otter Pokemon appeared. "Use Water Gun!"

"Patrat, dodge it!" Tia yelled, but it was too late. The Scout Pokemon had already been hit with the high-pressure stream of water, taking it down.

"Seems we're both down to our last Pokemon," Tia said. "Go, Purrloin!" She threw out her second, and last, Poke Ball, opening to reveal the purple-and-cream cat creature. "Purrloin, use Growl!" Purrloin opened its mouth and released a cry that distorted the air, freezing Maru in place. "Now Scratch!"

Purrloin popped its claws, dashing for Oshawott, scraping it up, then quickly backing off.  
"Maru, Water Gun again!" Hilbert commanded. Using its nimbleness, Purrloin was able to twist out of the way of the high-pressure stream.

"Go in for another Scratch!" Tia yelled. Purrloin ran towards Oshawott, zigzagging as it went.

"Maru, keep using Water Gun! It doesn't matter where!" Oshawott began spitting water bursts out of its mouth in random directions, hoping to hit its assailant. Purrloin desperately tried to avoid the onrush, but was hit with a burst, sending it back. "Water Gun one more time!" Hilbert yelled.

Maru spat a stream of water out of its mouth. The stunned and waterlogged Purrloin didn't have a chance to dodge the attack. It was hit, and went down. Heart pounding, Hilbert recalled Maru to his Poke Ball, Tia doing the same with her downed Purrloin.

"Good match," Hilbert said, tapping Trainer Cards with Tia. "You gave me a run for my money there."

"If you think I'm tough, then just wait 'til you take on the Gym Leader," Tia said.

Saying goodbye, Hilbert left the Gym to heal at the Pokemon Center yet again, then solved the Gym's button puzzle for the last time (the last room's correct button was fire) and entered into the Gym Leader's room. It was modelled after a high-class dining area, in contrast to the other room's more cafe-like atmosphere. Fancy tables decorated with faux candles that were actually lights were placed around the room, while still keeping a clear arena for battle. The other source of illumination came from four wall scones, with one on the left wall, its twin on the right, and two on the back wall. Between the lights was a giant screen, but what purpose it served, Hilbert could not say.

At the back of the room, the three Gym Leaders were huddled around an open panel in the wall, fiddling with what looked like wiring. They took no notice of his presence, so he decided to announce himself. "Um, hello?" he said. "I'm here to challenge you."

One of the Leaders, the one with dreadlocks-like blue hair, turned around, walking towards Hilbert. "Ah, I see we have our first challenger now that the Gym is open again," he said in a smooth voice that reminded Hilbert of flowing water. "Just wait one more minute, we're having some technical difficulties with the screen."

"Relax, Cress, I think I've got it," the red haired one barked sharply. "Y'know, we wouldn't have to do this in front of a challenger if SOMEONE- not that I'm gonna name any names- hadn't been so eager to invite challengers back now that the reno's done." He placed the panel back in the wall. "There, that should do it." He flipped a switch, and the screen lit up, showing a three-dimensional image of a Poke Ball with lines swirling in orbit around it.

"Now, I don't think we've been properly introduced," Cress said as the other two walked over. "My name is Cress. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

The red-haired one spoke next, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "I'm Chili!"

"And I'm uh, Cilan, but you knew that already," Cilan said.

"Alright, let's cut to the chase," Chili said. "Is this your first battle with a Gym Leader?"

Hilbert said that it was, and Chili went on to explain how Gym Leader battles worked. Apparently, Gym Leaders did not battle using all their skill, instead holding back somewhat depending on the number of badges a challenger had; the fewer they had, the easier they would go on them. "Now what starter did you pick, and lastly, what's your name?" Chili finished.

"I picked Oshawott. And it's Hilbert," Hilbert replied.

"Then that means you'll be fighting me," Cilan said. "I have to say, you handled your Oshawott well in battle against that other boy, but he didn't look so happy about losing."

Hilbert sighed. "That's just his personality, I'm afraid. His name is Cheren, and he's been one of my best friends since we were toddlers. He's always had a short temper, and hates to lose at anything. I'm just scared that losing in front of all those people might have set him off."

"Maybe, maybe not," Cress said reassuringly. "Pokemon journeys change people, so perhaps he'll mature and grow out of it. Anyways, should we get this going?"

Hilbert took a few seconds to respond, thinking about Cress's words. "Okay," he finally said. "I'm ready."

"Man, I was all fired up for a battle, too..." Chili muttered as he walked to the right end of the room with his brothers, Hilbert taking the other side. Cilan wasted no time, grabbing the first of two Poke Balls on his waist and throwing it out. "Go, Lillipup!"

Hilbert snatched up Maru's Poke Ball and tossed it out. "Maru, let 'em have it!" The two Poke Balls opened in mid-air, and the creatures materialized on the floor. The screen on the back wall came to life, displaying images of each Pokemon above their names, but what was most curious of all, was the presence of a green bar for each Pokemon, one Hilbert could only describe as a health meter.

"If you're at all curious about the monitor, it's displaying exactly what you think it is," Chili called. "As each Pokemon takes damage, those green bars go down in real time. Takes a lot of the guesswork outta battling, but only Gyms and the Elite Four's rooms have them. So don't get used to it."

"Go straight for the Bite, Lillipup!" Cilan commanded. Lillipup, moving as fast as its stubby legs could carry it, dashed for Oshawott. Unfortunately for it, the room was much longer than it was wide, so it had plenty of ground to cover, and that meant Oshawott had plenty of time to use Water Gun on Hilbert's orders.

Lillipup was hit, and the attack took a small chunk of its health out according to the screen. Lillipup got to its feet, dripping wet and stunned. "Ah!" Cilan cried uncharacteristically. "My Pokemon! Lillipup, don't stop, keep going! Bite!" Lillipup shook briefly, getting the water out of its coat, then bared its fangs and ran for Oshawott.

"Maru, use Water Gun again!" Hilbert yelled. Oshawott spat a stream of water at Lillipup, but it dodged neatly, pouncing on Maru and biting down savagely. Maru screamed in pain.

"Maru!" Hilbert yelled. "Try and get it off somehow! Roll over, just do something!" He glanced over at the screen. Oshawott's health was still in the green, but it was dropping by the second due to the Lillipup's refusal to let go. Suddenly, an idea hit him. "Maru, use Water Gun, point-blank!"

As Oshawott opened its mouth, Cilan realized what Hilbert was trying to do, and yelled for Lillipup to get away. It was too late, though. The stream of water hit the Puppy Pokemon dead-on, flinging it off of Maru. It landed hard five feet away.

"Good job, Maru!" Hilbert praised. "Now Tackle!"

"Get up, now!" Cilan called. "Bite!" Lillipup looked up just in time to see Oshawott charging towards it, slamming into it. It yowled as it was sent backwards. _I guess desperate times call for desperate measures,_ Cilan thought. "Use Work Up, Lillipup!"

Hilbert could only watch in confusion as Lillipup began stamping the ground with its front paws. After a few seconds, it stopped, and was briefly surrounded by a red glow. "Now go for Bite again!" Cilan called. Lillipup crossed the short distance between it and Oshawott before the latter could even react, and chomped down _._ Oshawott screamed again. Not wanting a repeat of last time, Lillipup quickly backed off.

Hilbert looked at the screen. The bar representing Maru's health had dropped below the halfway point, and had turned yellow. Suddenly, Oshawott began to glow as the Oran Berry it held took effect. The bar on the screen shot back up into the green. "Yes!" Hilbert cheered. He, like Cheren, had completely forgotten that he had given Maru and Logan Oran Berries. "Use Water Gun! Take out that Lillipup!"

The Puppy Pokemon yelped as the high-pressure stream of water hit it, taking it down. "Lillipup, return!" Cilan called, recalling Lillipup. "Well, uh, looks like you've gotten me down to my last Pokemon," he added. "Um, go, Pansage!" He threw out his second Poke Ball, and a green simian-like Pokemon appeared. It had large ears with light green insides, a cream torso, arms, and face, and a tail with two leaves on the end. A broccoli-like protrusion stuck out of the top of its head.

"Ah crap, another Grass-type," Hilbert groaned.

"Go for Vine Whip!" Cilan cried.

"Oshawott, dodge!" Hilbert yelled.

Pansage quickly grew a green vine from its arm, slashing it down. Oshawott tried to dodge, but was struck with the Grass-type attack, sending it flying. It landed hard, unconscious. "Damn it!" Hilbert shouted. The picture of Oshawott on the board exploded into pieces as its health bar went down to nothing. Hilbert held his Lillipup's Poke Ball up to his face. "Come on Logan, time to _really_ show what you're made of."

He pulled his arm back, and threw the Poke Ball with all his might. With a flash, Logan appeared. "Use Bite!" Hilbert commanded.

"Vine Whip!" Cilan yelled as Logan ran for Pansage, fangs bared. Another vine grew out of Pansge's arm, and it slashed down, striking Logan.

"Don't stop, Logan! Get up, keep going!"

Logan rolled to his feet, just barely avoiding another Vine Whip, then pounced on Pansage, biting down savagely. Pansage yelled, trying to push Logan off of it. Cilan glanced at the screen, knowing he had to do something fast. "Pansage, use Fury Swipes!"

Pansage's fingerless hands glowed white, and it swiped one upwards, knocking Logan off of it. "Don't stop, keep going!" Cilan yelled. Getting to its feet, Pansage lunged for Logan, slashing repeatedly with its glowing hands.

Logan was forced to forced to dodge wildly as Pansage swiped at it, two, three more times. Fury Swipes, however, wasn't the most accurate move in the world, with Pansage's blows being random and sloppy, allowing Hilbert to command Logan to use Tackle on Pansage once the onslaught had ended. Pansage was sent skidding back.

"Keep it up, Logan!" Hilbert said. "Bite!"

Logan charged for Pansage, chomping down on it. He quickly backed off as Pansage threw a Fury Swipe his way. Cilan looked at the screen. His Pansage was down to the red in health. One more attack would do it in, but he still wasn't done yet. He decided to give it one last Vine Whip before submitting to the inevitable. "Pansage, put everything you've got into this! Vine Whip!"

The oh-so-familiar vine grew out of Pansage's arm, and it ran towards Logan, slashing down with all it had left. Logan dodged, and with the next Bite, it was over. Cilan recalled Pansage to its Poke Ball as Hilbert ran up to Logan, picking him up. "You did it, Logan! I'm so proud of you! We won our first Gym Badge!" Logan yipped in joy, licking Hilbert's face.

Breathing heavily and sweating slightly, Cilan walked over to Hilbert, his brothers following him. "Well colour me surprised," he said. "You're... very strong. I don't think even Chili or Cress could beat you. So, in honour of your victory, we, um, confer upon you the official Striaton City Badge- the Trio Badge!" He took out a small brass pin from his pocket. It was shaped like a double-sided dagger, with three glass beads inlaid- one blue, one red, and one green.

"Thank you so much, Cilan," Hilbert said. He placed the Badge in his case, then shut it and put it away in his bag.

"Oh, and take this too," Cress said. He pulled what looked like an old-style floppy disk, handing it to Hilbert.

"What is this?" Hilbert asked.

"It's a TM, short for Technical Machine," Chili explained. "It contains TM83, Work Up. Y'know, the move that Cilan's Lillipup used to increase its attacking power? This is it. It raises your Pokemon's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each, but only until you recall them. Oh, and don't be afraid to use it, either. Once upon a time, TM's could only be used once, and that wiped the data on them. But now, you can use it pretty much forever!" Cool, huh?"

"Thank you all so much," Hilbert said. "I think I should get going now. Bye!"

With that, he ran out of the Gym, overjoyed at having won his first Badge. "Come back soon!" The Gym Leaders called at his retreating form.

"Trust me, I will!" he hollered back. "I'd never get tired of eating the food you serve here!"

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the city, near Route 3, a fuming Cheren was training his Pokemon. "Come on, Tara! Dodge better next time!" He yelled as Snivy was hit with Interloper's Scratch. His thoughts turned to the battle he had with Hilbert just over an hour before.

 _I can't believe he'd humiliate me like that,_ he thought. _And in front of all those people, too. If the Gym Leader hadn't shown up, I would've won, no questions asked._

'But you challenged him, fair and square,' a small voice in his mind said. 'It's just a matter of bad luck that Cilan happened to show up'.

He firmly quashed that voice. _No, I_ should _have won. I'll redeem myself. I'll get that Badge, and then I'll show Hilbert who's really stronger. I just have to be patient..._

* * *

 **A/N: Before we go, something needs to be said. While in the middle of writing this chapter, I found out that Nintendo's President, Satoru Iwata, passed away on July 11 of this year (and if you're reading this years from now, that would be 2015). I have no idea why he died so early in his life, but the fact remains he will be greatly missed by those in the video game industry and Nintendo fans alike. RIP.**


	9. Chapter 7: Plasma by the Yard-full

**A/N: Okay. We have a bit of an awkward situation on our hands, people. Y'see, I was GOING to put a link to Dr. Pez 12's guitar cover of the Team Plasma battle theme on my profile... but then FanFiction decided to be a douche and stop links from working on profiles. All I can say is, fuck you Xing. You and all your nine staff. And no, you did not misread that, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is how many staff members this website has. Do things make a bit more sense as to why the staff are so infamously opaque/lazy now? So, yeah, to find the cover (this is why I recommend reading this story primarily on PC's/laptops) you'll have to open a new window, search 'Dr. Pez 12 Team Plasma battle' on YouTube, and there ya go. I'll be sure to post a link to the song on my profile once (read: IF) this is dealt with. UPDATE 8/15/15: Apparently the links are working again, and the link to the video is on my profile. If not, let me know via PM. Thanks, and enjoy!**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 7: Plasma by the Yard-Full

Hilbert walked out of the Striaton City Gym with a spring in his step. He had actually done it- the first Gym Badge was his! Unable to resist the urge to take it out and look at it, he did so, grinning as he saw the gleam of the polished brass.

He snapped the Badge case shut, continuing to walk through the city streets. However, he stopped when a woman's voice yelled, "Wait!"

He turned around, seeing the scientist from before, Fennel, running up to him. She stopped in front of him, panting slightly. "I need to speak with you."

Hilbert was confused, to say the least. _First she says she can't see me, and now she wants to talk?_ He thought. Still, he was curious as to what Fennel wanted, so he decided to give her his time. "What is is?" he asked.

"Professor Juniper called me," Fennel responded. "She asked me to look for a boy in a blue jacket. Well, one of two boys, actually, but either one would do. I assume you're Cheren?"

"No, I'm Hilbert," Hilbert said, a bit insulted at the confusion.

Fennel smacked her own forehead. "Oh! That's right, she said that Cheren doesn't wear a baseball cap. I just forgot, forgive me. Anyways, Juniper asked me for your help with something. Please, follow me."

She turned around, Hilbert tailing her through the increasingly-crowded Striaton City streets, back to her apartment building. She unlocked the door to her apartment, leading him inside. The central room was dominated by the strangest machine Hilbert had ever seen. Looking like something out of a science fiction movie, it was a sort of oversized VCR that had been heavily modified and painted a light purple. It was placed on a table next to a bed. Various wires stuck out of it, a connecting to TV monitors on the opposite wall. Before Hilbert could ask what the hell it was all for, Fennel spoke up.

"Well here we are, my humble abode! As you can see, I'm a scientist, but I study something other than Pokemon. I study Trainers, or more accurately, the dreams of Trainers."

"What for?" Hilbert asked.

"This might sound crazy, and you might not believe me at first, but hear me out," Fennel said. Hilbert simply nodded, indicating he was willing to listen. "I have reason to believe that an alternate universe exists, parallel to our own. Dreams allow us to get a glimpse into this other world. For example, there could be another me, having this same conversation with another you, right now! Isn't that amazing?"

Hilbert took a moment to process this, thinking it over. The concept of parallel worlds had always both intrigued and disturbed him. On one hand, it was cool to think there was another him out there, somewhere, but on the other, he didn't like the fact that there could be a carbon copy of himself. After all, everyone was unique, one-of-a-kind...right?

Finally, he replied, "I think it's fascinating what you're doing, but what does this have to do with me?"

Fennel suddenly perked up, as if expecting this question. "Basically, I need your help. You see that machine over there?" She pointed to the device by the bed. "That device is what translates brain patterns that make up dreams into images that are displayed on those monitors. However, I need something called Dream Mist to make the machine work, my supplier recently ran out, and to make matters worse, they're backed-ordered for weeks!"

"Hold on a minute, weren't you using it just fine when I first saw you?" Hilbert said.

"Yes, but that used up the last of the Dream Mist," Fennel said. "And that 'major breakthrough didn't pan out into anything, either."

She sighed before continuing. "That's where you come in. There's an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city's east end. A Pokemon that gives off Dream Mist, Munna, makes its home there. Unfortunately, there's a lot of sharp foliage blocking the entrance to it. So I'll give you something to cut down the growth."

She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out another TM. She handed it to Hilbert. At his questioning expression, she explained further. "This HM- or Hidden Machine- contains the move Cut. Teach it to a Pokemon, and they'll learn how to slice down any small foliage in your way. Use it to get into the factory. I'd go myself, but I don't have a Pokemon that can learn Cut, and only people who have the Striaton Gym Badge can make their Pokemon use Cut outside of battle anyway.

"So," she finished, "Will you do this for me?"

Once again, Hilbert thought it over, his eyes naturally trailing up and to the left. He had seemingly nothing to gain from doing this (as Fennel had provided him with no incentive) but nothing to lose, either. He glanced back at the scientist for a second. She had an almost pleading, Lillipup-dog expression on her face. Finally, he agreed.

Overjoyed, Fennel scribbled down some directions on a piece of paper and handed it to him, then sent him on his way. He walked through the city streets to the Pokemon Center to heal, then continued on in a generally eastward direction, going past apartment buildings, shops, and into one of the more suburban areas. This was where, despite the directions he had been given, things got confusing to navigate. The streets seemed to have no end and looped back around on each other, creating a messy snarl of concrete. There were no landmarks to go by, either; every house looked the same, save for slight differences in brick colour.

Eventually, Hilbert just said, "screw it," and asked a local how to get to the factory. This proved to help immensely, and soon he came across a sign that said 'DREAMYARD AHEAD'.

"Dreamyard?" Hilbert said to himself. "Why didn't Fennel just tell me that? I've always wanted to visit that place."

Striaton Industrial Machine Parts Inc., or as it was now known, the Dreamyard, was a well-known spot in the Unova region, and a popular tourist destination. The plant had manufactured precision parts for a company called Mauville Industries in Hoenn, but had been abandoned shortly after that company went under. Now the plant sat, slowly decaying, in a wooded area beyond the east suburb of Striaton. It was far from forgotten, however. It was now a spot for people to train their Pokemon, and several movies, particularly those in the horror genre, had been shot on-location there.

The sun had reached its peak in the sky as Hilbert entered said wooded area. The Dreamyard loomed ahead, its decaying form seeming almost zombie-like. It was obvious why studios chose this place to film. Some Trainers were having their own Pokemon engage in mock battle for training purposes.

One boy noticed him, recalling his two duelling Patrat and running over. "Hey, you wanna battle?" he asked. He threw out one of his Patrat, seemingly in a futile attempt at intimidation.

"And here I thought I had a choice," Hilbert muttered sarcastically. "Go, Maru!" In a flash, Oshawott appeared. The Partat hissed and bared its teeth.

"Oh yeah, I forgot introductions," the boy said. "I'm Joey."

Hilbert couldn't help but smirk a bit. Joey had been one of Gold's first, and most famous, challengers. He was adamant about telling the world about his so-called 'top percentage Rattata', even to the point of interrupting a press conference that Gold was having after defeating the Elite Four with a Pokegear call.

Taking a jab was irresistible. "My name's Hilbert. But I gotta ask, is that Patrat... in the top percentage of Patrat?"

Joey's expression quickly turned into one of murderous rage. "Okay, I was gonna go easy on you, but after that, _no mercy!"_ he yelled. "I am _sick_ everyone comparing me to that bastard from Johto! Patrat, Bite!"

Patrat dashed toward Maru, rage in its already red eyes. "Maru, Water Gun!" The high-pressure stream of water slammed into the Patrat, sending it tumbling back. Joey's Pokemon seemed to be at a much lower level than Hilbert's, as the Patrat did get up, but it looked unsteady on its feet. "Keep it up, Maru! Water Gun again!" Hilbert commanded.

"Leer, Patrat!" Joey yelled, but it was too late. Just as Patrat's eyes started to turn from red with black pupils to solid red, the Water-type attack hit it, knocking it out.

Not willing to give up, Joey sent out his second Patrat, only to be met with the same result. In desperation, he sent out his last Pokemon, a Lillipup. The Lillipup, with its higher speed, did manage to get off a Tackle, but not before being hit with a Water Gun. However, due to Lillipup's low level, the attack didn't do much damage, and two Water Guns later, it went down.

"Damn it!" Joey yelled, recalling his Lillipup. He stomped towards Hilbert, pulling his Trainer Card out of his pocket. They tapped cards, Joey muttering a sentence under his breath that sounded an awful lot like something that rhymed with 'go duck yourself,' then stalked out of the Dreamyard's lot.

 _Rude,_ Hilbert thought, then walked up to one of the rusted gates of the factory. The Dreamyard was protected by crumbling concrete walls, with rusty chain-link fencing in places. What was unusual about this particular gate, however, was that even though its fencing seemed rusted, the chain and lock holding them together looked relatively new and untarnished. "But why would there be a new lock on old gates..?" he wondered aloud, shaking them a bit. The fencing, old as it was, didn't budge.

Hilbert kept going, finding another gate to get into the factory. These gates were held in place by a simple latch, but thorny vines had grown over the fencing on the gates, creating a painful barricade that prevented anyone from going inside. "Luckily I have just the thing to get around this," Hilbert said to himself, pulling out both the Cut HM and his Pokedex.

He saw that Cut was a physical Normal-type move, with 50 base power. Unfortunately, the one Pokemon he had on him that would get STAB with it, his Lillipup, could not learn it. With no other choice, he taught it to Maru, having him forget Tail Whip. Thinking that a move upgrade for Logan also wasn't a bad idea, he taught him Work Up in place of Odor Sleuth.

He let Maru out of his Poke Ball and had him slash the vines, then heard a familiar voice yell his name. "Hey! Hilbert! Wait!"

He turned to his left, and sure enough, there was Bianca, running toward him. Her long skirt impeded her somewhat, but she did manage. "Bianca?" Hilbert said. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard some people talking about a mysterious Psychic-type Pokemon that lives here," Bianca replied. "I want to catch it for my team."

"Did they say the Pokemon was named Munna?" Hilbert asked.

"I think so," Bianca said.

"Then it looks like we're both after the same thing. Do you remember the scientist that Professor Juniper told us to meet back in Accumula Town, Fennel?" Hilbert asked. Bianca nodded. "She told me to go retrieve a sample of something Munna gives off, called Dream Mist. Why don't we search together? Just please don't catch it until I've gotten the Dream Mist, okay?"

"Deal. Shall we, then?" Bianca said, gesturing at the gates.

Hilbert unlatched the gates, which swung open with a creak of ancient metal. They trudged through a small, abandoned parking lot, shrubs growing in between cracks in the concrete. "You wonder how Dream Mist works?" Bianca asked.

Hilbert shrugged. "Dunno. I didn't really give it any thought."

Despite what Hilbert had seen in movies, there really wasn't much to the Dreamyard. The films had shown the walls, both inside and out, spattered in fake blood, with all sorts of horrible torture machines inside- fitting for a lair of the disfigured chainsaw-wielding killers in the movies. The reality, however, was quite boring. There was literally nothing on the outside of the former factory, save for old bricks, the remains of exhaust stacks that once adorned the building's roof.

Speaking of the roof, it was a faded blue colour, practically rusted clean away. The one section of it that wasn't gone was covering a small part of the front of the interior. Suddenly, they both heard a noise, like a Pokemon's cry, coming from inside the plant. "Muuun..."

"Did you hear that?" Bianca whispered. "It sounded like a Pokemon's cry! I'll bet you anything it's a Munna!" She dashed off before Hilbert could react, heading inside the factory.

"Bianca, wait!" He ran after her. The inside of the Dreamyard was just as derelict as the outside. It was a large warehouse, mostly without walls, and large holes in the floor. Hilbert peered down into one of them as he passed by. The holes led to the facility's basement, but what was down there, he could not tell. "Do _not_ want to fall down into one of those," he shuddered.

Aside from some rusted barrels, there was nothing of note in the building. Large patches of tall grass grew to the north and east, going into disused forest trails that Hilbert didn't particularly feel like exploring. The strange Pokemon's cry sounded once again. "Muuun..."

"There it is again!" Bianca exclaimed. "It's gotta be around here somewhere..."

Hilbert only tapped her on the shoulder, pointing to the northern trail. "Uh, Bianca, I think it's right there."

Floating a few metres away, was Munna. It was a pink, quadrupedal Pokemon with stubby limbs, and purple flower markings adorning its body. Bianca gasped as soon as she saw it. The Munna, however, seemed startled, and began to float in the opposite direction.

"Wait! We're not going to hurt you." Bianca said. She and Hilbert slowly approached the Dream Eater Pokemon. Suddenly, two figures ran out of the eastern trail.

"There it is!" One of them yelled. They quickly surrounded Munna, the Pokemon making a frightened, "...Mu!"

"Thought you could get away from us, huh?" The second person said. Both people were dressed in the Team Plasma uniform that Hilbert and Cheren had seen back in Accumula Town. "Make some Dream Mist, _now!"_ The Munna only gave a terrified cry.

"Hilbert, who are these people?" Bianca asked.

"Who, us?" The grunt on the left replied, overhearing. "We're Team Plasma. We work day and night to liberate Pokemon from people who would abuse them!"

"But what does Munna have to do with it?" Hilbert asked.

"Munna and its evolution Musharna give off a vapour called Dream Mist, which shows people's innermost dreams and desires." The right grunt said. "We'll use that to show just how cruel people are deep down! That will make them want to release their Pokemon when they see how ugly a person can be inside!"

"Good going, dumbass," the other grunt said. "Now they know what we're gonna do! We gotta get that Mist and get out of here!" He gave the Dream Eater Pokemon a hard kick to the side. "Come on! Spit it the Dream Mist!"

"Muu!" Munna yelled in pain.

"What the hell!?" Hilbert cried. "You just said you want to save Pokemon from abusive Trainers, and then you go and do that!?"

"He's right, that's mean!" Bianca chimed in. She pointed to the Poke Balls on the grunt's belts. "Aren't you Trainers too?"

"That's right." The right grunt said. "We are, but we're fighting for the freedom of Pokemon! Unlike you two, who only fight for sport. We may take Pokemon by force, but that's only because we have no choice."

"So on that note," the other grunt said, "We're going to rescue your Pokemon from you!"

"Bianca, get behind me." Hilbert said firmly as the grunt backed up and grabbed the Poke Ball off his belt.

"But I can help too..." Bianca said.

" _Now,_ dammit!" Hilbert yelled as the grunt threw out his Poke Ball. In a flash of light, a Patrat appeared.

"Go, Maru!" Hilbert yelled, throwing out Oshawott.

"Patrat, use Tackle!" The grunt yelled.

"Maru, Water Gun!" Hilbert commanded. Oshawott shot a stream of water out of its mouth, only for the grunt to command his Patrat to dodge. Amazingly, it did, jumping clean over the water-type attack, and slamming into Maru, sending him reeling back.

"Get up, Maru! Let's try Cut!" Hilbert said. Even though Oshawott didn't get STAB with Cut, it was more powerful overall. Maru took the seashell off its belly, and slashed at Patrat. The hit connected, dealing a sizable chunk of damage to the enemy Pokemon.

Munna, meanwhile, was not going to let this opportunity to escape slip away. It tried to float away discreetly, but was noticed by the other grunt. "Hey! Stop! Purrloin, get that thing; use Scratch!"

Purrloin appeared as the grunt threw out her Poke Ball, racing toward the much slower Munna. The Devious Pokemon jumped a bit, raking its claws across the wild Pokemon's side. Munna yelled in pain.

"Munna!" Bianca cried. "Pepper, help it!" Bianca threw out her Lilipup, who slammed into Purrloin.

Purrloin hissed and turned its attention to Pepper. Without a command from its Trainer, it slashed its claws at her, making the Puppy Pokemon yell as the hit connected.

"You really wanna get in our way, you brat?" The female grunt hissed. "Purrloin, Growl, then go in for the Scratch!"

"Leer, Pepper!" Bianca commanded. Before Purrloin could even open its mouth, Pepper's eyes glowed red, freezing the Devious Pokemon in place. "Now Bite!"

Pepper ran towards the helpless Purrloin, and clamped her jaws on its face.

As all this was happening, Hilbert was still battling the other grunt's Patrat. He commanded Maru to use Cut right as the grunt had his Patrat use Leer.

"Now Tackle that thing!" The grunt yelled. Patrat slammed into Maru, sending it reeling back.

"Water Gun, Maru!" Hilbert shouted as soon as Oshawott had gotten back on his feet. This time, the stream of water hit, knocking back the Scout Pokemon.

"Bide!" The grunt yelled. Patrat tensed its muscles, preparing to endure any hits thrown at it. Unfortunately for the grunt, two Water Guns were more than enough to take down his Patrat.

"Patrat, come back!" He called, returning the Pokemon to its Ball. He then turned to his partner, who was still fending off Pepper. "Forget about these kids! Just get the Dream Mist!"

"Purrloin, take out that Lillipup!" The other grunt yelled. With one more Scratch, Pepper was sent backwards, allowing the grunt a clear shot at Munna. She frantically kicked at the Dream Eater Pokemon, hoping to make it release its Dream Mist.

Suddenly, there was a white flash, and the last person anyone expected to see appeared out of nowhere.

 _It's that guy from the rally,_ Hilbert thought.

"G-Ghetsis!" The grunt kicking Munna cried. She immediately recalled her Purrloin, her partner walking up to her.

"What are you two doing goofing off?" Ghetsis growled.

"Wha- what's Ghetsis doing here?" The male grunt stammered.

Suddenly, _another_ Ghetsis materialized to their right.

"We, Team Plasma, shall separate Pokemon from foolish humans!" The second Ghetsis said. They both vanished briefly, then in another flash, appeared behind the pair of grunts, combined once more.

"If you cannot fulfil your duties..." the green-haired man said threateningly, towering over the two underlings.

"Uh... when did Ghetsis get teleporting powers?" One grunt whispered.

"Who cares?" The other grunt said. "This isn't Ghetsis when he's gathering followers or tricking people with speeches... this is Ghetsis when he's mad!"

"So.. should we get outta here?"

"Obviously!" Run!"

The two grunts took off, running for their lives out of the Dreamyard. In another white flash, Ghetsis vanished.

Bianca turned to Hilbert. "What was that just now? That Ghetsis guy... he just appeared everywhere, and then he vanished. How did he do that?"

Hilbert turned to the Munna, and gasped. "Something tells me I just found out."

Bianca looked to where Munna was, and she too gasped. "What is that..?"

Munna had been joined by a second Pokemon. It was similar in appearance to the Dream Eater Pokemon, but was a bit larger, with a mostly purple body. Its head was pale pink, and out of a hole in its snout, a dark pink mist seeped out.

"Oh, I get it!" Bianca said. "That Pokemon must have been making us and the grunts hallucinate."

"Not only that, but I think I've found the Dream Mist," Hilbert added. Then he groaned, realizing he had brought nothing to put the Mist _in._ It was such a crucial oversight on his part, and he cursed under his breath.

"Oh!" A voice from behind them exclaimed. Hilbert and Bianca turned around, seeing Fennel walking up to them. "I couldn't wait, so I came over." She said, anticipating their questions. Noticing the Pokemon next to Munna, she exclaimed, "Is that a Musharna!?"

"A Musharna?" Bianca asked.

"Yes," Fennel said. "It's Munna's evolved form. There have been rumours of one appearing around here, but no one believed them. To think, they were true all this time..!"

The Musharna and Munna then went back into the forest trail, having had enough excitement for one day. The Musharna left behind a cloud of pink vapour, and Fennel ran up to it, pulling vials out of her lab coat. She dipped them into the mist, and quickly corked them, putting them away.

"This is Dream Mist," she explained. "That Musharna was probably one of Munna's parents, so it sensed Munna was in trouble, and used this to make you all hallucinate. But with this, my machine can be up and running again! You two please come to my house later, okay? Thank you for your help!"

Fennel bid goodbye, heading back to her apartment. "Well _that_ was something you don't experience every day," Bianca said.

"Yeah, it was pretty damn random," Hilbert said.

"I just hope we don't run into those Team Plasma guys again. I wanna keep looking for that Munna, so I think I'll stick around here," Bianca said. "You can go back to Fennel's, if you want to."

"I think I will." Hilbert said. He walked out of the warehouse, thoughts swirling. Team Plasma had seemed weird back in Accumula Town when they made their rally, but now they had revealed themselves to be bad news across the board. Bianca was right, it was best to just hope that this would be the last he'd see of them.

Cheren walked out of the Striaton City Gym, feeling very self-satisfied. He had easily won against Chili, thanks to Snivy learning Growth, a move that raised Attack and Special Attack by one stage each. On top of that, Chili's Pansear's only super-effective move on Snivy, Incinerate, only had 35 base power with STAB. It was simply no contest.

He took the Trio Badge out his own Badge case and looked at it. _Hilbert, you won't know what hit you next time we battle,_ he thought, smirking.

* * *

 **A/N: Damn, that was a tough chapter. Writer's block just slammed into me about a quarter of the way through, and that's why this took so long. Next time, we have another rival battle coming up folks. And no, the C-Gear will not come into this story, given how it's too... fourth-wall breaking, and video-game-ish, if that makes sense.**


	10. Chapter 8: The Road to Nacrene

**A/N: Is anyone else getting sick of Hilbert fighting com 'mon trash like Patrat and Purrloin? Well too bad, 'cause more of that happens in this chapter too.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 8: The Road to Nacrene

The next day, Hilbert decided it was time to head out of Striaton. He'd had more than enough excitement for one city, and wanted to leave. He got up, had a shower, got dressed (his clothes were becoming somewhat wrinkled and smelly from his B.O, he noticed), and walked out of the Pokemon Center. Bianca would have to check out of the room this time.

Speaking of Bianca, not half an hour after he left Fennel's, who rewarded him with quite a large amount of money for helping her find the Dream Mist, she ran up to him in an excited frenzy, gushing about how she had caught a Munna. After healing it at the Pokemon Center, she immediately challenged the Gym before it closed for the day, earning her Trio Badge.

As for his own Pokemon, Oshawott had levelled up a bit following the battles with Joey and the Team Plasma grunts. It tried to learn Water Sport, a move that weakened the power of Fire-type moves when used in battle. Hilbert found it quite useless, as Oshawott already resisted Fire-type attacks, and denied his starter from learning it. On the plus side, it also learned a move that could actually be rather useful: Focus Energy. This move raised the critical hit ratio for any damaging moves that Oshawott used.

Hilbert had enquired at the Trainer's School exactly what critical hits were. The teacher had explained that they ignored all stat buffs- defensive or otherwise- used by an enemy Pokemon, _and_ inflicted double damage. After learning this, Hilbert immediately approved via the Pokedex that Oshawott learn the move. He had also been given three more Oran Berries, to help him along the fairly lengthy path to Nacrene City, Route 3. After a considerably more expensive breakfast at the Striaton Gym, he was finally ready to get going.

Thankfully, the west suburbs of Striaton were somewhat easier to navigate, and within half an hour, he had passed by Striaton's hedge garden on the edge of town, and was officially on Route 3. Route 3 was much less linear than the two Routes before it, but it still was not hard to find out which path one had to take. The paved roads for cars ran parallel to the dirt path, which split halfway through, with one path going west through a swampy area, and the other going south, to Nacrene.

To his surprise, he found a small daycare for children about a quarter of the way down the path, and decided to check it out. At first he thought it was strange to have a daycare on a Route, but when he thought about it some more, it made sense. Most children left on Pokemon journeys one day, and they needed to be acclimatized to the creatures when that day came.

One of the workers noticed him wandering around, and walked up to him. "Well, hello there!" she said. "Come to take a look around? I'm Autumn, I help run this place."

He stuck his hand out to shake hers when she offered it. "Name's Hilbert. And yeah, I am." He glanced at the playground, where many young kids were running around, playing games and swinging on the swingset. "Hard keeping them out of mischief?"

Autumn gave a brief laugh. "Oh no, not at all! They're good kids, they've got good heads on their shoulders, and most have Pokemon to look after them." At Hilbert's questioning expression, she explained. "You know how Trainers look after their Pokemon? Well here, it's more like the other way around. They don't have Trainer Cards, and as such aren't allowed to battle, so it's mostly used to get them used to being around Pokemon."

"I thought as much," Hilbert said.

Autumn sighed, getting a suddenly wistful look in her eyes as she turned back to the children. "It makes you wonder what they'll make of themselves when it comes time for them go on their journeys. Some might not even, just find jobs in Striaton or Casteila."

"You never know. I just got my first Gym Badge yesterday." Hilbert said.

"You did?"

"Yep. Right now I'm on my way to Nacrene City."

"Oh, then I'd better let you go," Autumn said. "It's a long road to Nacrene, and no one likes being stuck on a Route at night."

"Okay, see you," Hilbert said. He walked of the daycare area and continued on. The occasional car passed by on the road, but other than that, he encountered nothing of note. That is, until he spotted Cheren as he was coming up on the fork in the road that led to Nacrene.

The black-haired boy had both his Purrloin and Snivy out of their Poke Balls and engaged in mock battle, but then he turned around, locking eyes with Hilbert. He immediately recalled his two Pokemon back, and ran up to Hilbert.

"Didn't expect to see you here so soon," Cheren said, his voice having a slightly threatening tone to it that put Hilbert on edge.

"I could say the same to you." Hilbert took a step back, already knowing what was coming, considering Cheren had pulled a Poke Ball off his belt.

"You got your Trio Badge, right?" Cheren asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Hilbert said.

"I think it's time we found out who deserves it more," Cheren said. _Plus, beating you here will be great payback for humiliating me back in Striaton,_ Cheren added in his mind. The Poke Ball in his hand opened, and in a flash of light, his Snivy appeared.

"Alright, you want a battle? You got one," Hilbert said, backing up. "Go, Logan!" He threw out a Poke Ball, and his Lillipup appeared.

"Go for Tackle, Logan!" Hilbert called. Logan charged for Snivy, intending to ram into it.

"Counter with Leer, then go for Growth!" Cheren said. Snivy's eyes glowed red, freezing Logan in place, then it was surrounded by a green glow, which quickly turned reddish-orange .

 _I don't know what that did, and I don't want to find out,_ Hilbert thought. "Shake it off, Logan! Go for Bite!"

Logan bared his fangs, once again racing for Snivy. This time, he managed to chomp down on the Grass Snake Pokemon, making it cry out in pain.

"Use Wrap, Tara!" Cheren yelled. Vines grew out of Snivy's back, wrapping around Logan's body and squeezing until the Puppy Pokemon yowled in pain, releasing its jaw's vice-like grip. "Now toss it away!" Cheren commanded.

Snivy hurled Logan in Hilbert's direction. The Pokemon landed with a hard _THUD_ on the dirt, but slowly pushed himself to his feet. _Why did that Wrap attack seem to do so much damage?_ Hilbert thought. _Unless... oh, no._ "Go for Bite again, Logan! Come on!"

"Vine Whip, Tara!" Cheren yelled as Logan ran for Snivy. A long vine grew out of the Grass Snake Pokemon's arm.

"Dodge it, now!" Hilbert yelled. Logan threw himself out of the way as Snivy slashed its arm, and the vine, down. "Keep going! Bite!"

Logan clamped his sharp fangs down on Snivy, but quickly backed off, just barely getting out of the way of another Wrap. Snivy was completely bewildered that Logan dodged, and so was unable to get out of the way of an incoming Tackle, sending it reeling back.

Suddenly, Snivy began to glow. When it got up, it looked in better shape, but not nearly fully healed like before.

"Oh, come on, another Oran Berry!?" Hilbert cried.

Cheren apparently wasn't in the mood for explanations. "Tara, Growth!" Once again, Snivy's body became surrounded by a green glow, which then turned the same menacing reddish-orange shade.

 _Shit,_ Hilbert thought. Snivy was now in a more than comfortable position to sweep him. It was now at plus two Attack, more than enough to knock Logan out in one hit, and pure overkill for Maru.

"Vine Whip again, Tara!" Cheren commanded. Snivy ran toward Logan, growing the vine out of its arm while it did so. Even Logan realized the danger he was in, and yelped, dodging without a command from his Trainer.

"Work Up! Try and counter those Growths!" Hilbert called out.

Logan began to stomp on the ground with its front paws, creating a small dust cloud on the dirt path. When it was done, a red glow appeared around his body briefly. "Bite, Logan!" Hilbert yelled.

"Vine Whip! Now!" Cheren called.

Snivy immediately grew a vine out of its arm, and slashed it at Logan. Logan was slightly faster, managing to get in his attack and back off, causing significant damage to Snivy. Unfortunately, in the next few seconds, Logan was hit by a Vine Whip, knocking him out.

"This is so not good," Hilbert muttered to himself as he recalled Logan. "Go, Maru!" He threw out Oshawott's Poke Ball. There was only one way he could see himself winning this fight at this point, and it wasn't guaranteed to work. Still, it was all he had. "Use Focus Energy, Maru!"

Cheren looked on in confusion as Oshawott was surrounded by a yellow glow, which faded after a few seconds. Then he laughed. "What was that supposed to do? Give me something to look at?" His expression then darkened. "It's obvious you're not going to win this fight, Hilbert, so why don't you stop delaying the inevitable?"

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" Hilbert shot back, his eyes narrowed. "Maru, Cut!"

"Vine Whip, Tara!" Cheren shouted.

Both Pokemon dashed for each other, Snivy growing another vine out of its arm. A bead of nervous sweat ran down the side of Hilbert's face. He had to wait for just the right moment, and hope luck was on his side.

Snivy raised its arm to strike. "Now! Dodge!" Hilbert yelled. Oshawott scrambled out of the way, the vine missing its target by a hair. "Now use Cut!" Maru dashed for Snivy, took the shell off its stomach, and slashed the Grass Snake Pokemon across the face with it.

Cheren was shocked beyond words when Snivy was sent flying backwards from the Cut attack, knocked out. _But how?_ He thought. _Oshawott doesn't even get STAB with Cut..._

He quickly received his answer when Hilbert exclaimed, "Yeah! A critical hit! Great job, Maru!" Oshawott let out a joyful cry, then turned back to Cheren and growled, a determined look in its eyes.

Not willing to give up, Cheren sent out his Purrloin, Interloper, and was able to get in a Fury Swipe or two, but another critical hit from Oshawott ended the battle.

"B-but... that makes no sense," he muttered as he returned Interloper to his Poke Ball. Feeling numb, he walked up to Hilbert, tapping Trainer Cards with him. "How could you beat me?" he asked. "We both have the same number of Badges. We should be equals as Trainers..."

Just then, a voice yelled, "Outta the way!" and before either boy knew what was happening, they were shoved to the ground by two sprinting figures.

"What the hell..?" Cheren grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet, Hilbert doing likewise.

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice shout, "Someone! Stop them! Pokemon thieves!" It was Bianca, running up to them, with a little girl, presumably from the daycare, hot on her heels. Cheren moved in her way to stop her and ask what was going on, but unfortunately, she couldn't stop in time, and smashed full-on into him, sending them both to the ground.

In the midst of Cheren's pained groans and Bianca's frantic apologies, Hilbert turned to the snivelling little girl. "What's wrong? What's going on?" he asked.

"Th-those people..." she sobbed, "They- they stole my Pokemon!" That was all she managed to say before bursting into hysterical sobs.

"What!?" Hilbert exclaimed, Cheren finally managing to untangle himself from Bianca and get to his feet. He grabbed Bianca's hand and pulled her up as well.

"Is that true?" he asked her.

"Yes, it is!" Bianca cried. "I was just passing by the daycare when it happened! Some more Team Plasma grunts, by the looks of them, just up and stole this girl's Pokemon and took off before I could do anything!"

"Wait, Team Plasma?" Cheren questioned. He turned to Hilbert. "Those weirdos we saw back in Accumula Town?"

"Yeah, they're bad news, I'm afraid," Hilbert said. "Some of them attacked me and Bianca in the Dreamyard in Striaton City. From the sounds of it, they were planning to brainwash people into releasing their Pokemon using the vapour a Pokemon called Munna gives off."

Cheren smacked a fist against his palm. "Then we've gotta go after them. They were headed west, by the looks of it." Then he remembered he didn't have any more Pokemon to fight with, given how they'd all been knocked out in his battle with Hilbert. He swore.

"Cheren!" Bianca scolded. "Don't use language like that around kids!"

Ignoring her comment, Cheren turned to Hilbert. "Do you have any Potions I can use?"

"Yeah, but keep in mind I have to heal my Pokemon, which _your_ Pokemon hurt," Hilbert said.

"If you hadn't put up a fight, they wouldn't have gotten hurt, now would they?" Cheren countered.

" _You_ were the one who challenged me, _of course I had to fight back!"_ Hilbert yelled.

"My point is, you shouldn't have!" Cheren shouted right back.

"What, do you think I was gonna just let you win!?"

Noticing her friends' argument was only making the girl from the daycare even more distraught, Bianca yelled, "GUYS! Don't we have better things to do than fight right now?"

Cheren seemed to recover his maturity first, breaking his stare-down with Hilbert. "She's right." He put his pack on the ground, rummaging through it. After a few seconds, he stopped when he realized he had no Potions. He sighed. Before he could even ask Bianca, she had already pulled the medicine out of her purse.

"Just make sure to pay me back later," she told him as she handed him the bottles.

"I will," he said. He turned to Hilbert, who had just finished healing his Pokemon. "They ran that way, come on, let's go!"

He ran off, Hilbert hot on his heels. Their shoes splashed through muddy puddles as they ran through the swamp. Thanks to his special running shoes, Hilbert was able to overtake Cheren, arriving at the mouth of a cave first.

Taking a minute to get his breath back, Cheren asked, "Since when did you become a champion runner?"

"Since my mom gave me these shoes," Hilbert answered bluntly. "What exactly is this place, anyway?"

Cheren pulled his map out of his backpack. "Says here it's called the Wellspring Cave. It and a lake to the south are what supply both Striaton and Nacrene with their fresh water. There should be a water treatment plant somewhere along the way to Nacrene."

"Ready to go inside?" Hilbert asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, but but just be prepared for anything," Cheren said. "We don't know what these guys are capable of."

"Then let's go." And so they went into the Wellspring Cave.

Hilbert looked around the interior as they walked inside. The Wellspring Cave was a large cavern, with a large and deep pool of water dominating the rear half. Blue hexagon-shaped Rock-types with feet called Roggenrola burrowed underground at their entrance, while blue fuzzballs with wings, the Psychic/Flying-types called Woobat, hung from the ceiling in large groups.

The two Trainers spotted the grunts almost immediately. They had their backs turned, and seemed to be arguing. "I thought you said backup would be here!" One grunt hissed. "Isn't this the rendezvous point?"

"Well, duh!" The other snapped. "But how was I supposed to know they wouldn't be here _now?"_

Cheren cut right to the chase. "Hey!" He called. "Why'd you steal that little girl's Pokemon?" His voice echoed throughout the cave. The two grunts whirled around, realizing that they had been followed, and that the two boys were eavesdropping. Looks of shock came over their faces, but they both recovered their composure rather quickly.

"Why do you think?" One grunt replied. "That child isn't able to use her Pokemon to its full potential. That makes it suffer. Think about it: trapped in a ball all day, under the command of someone who doesn't know how to treat it properly... wouldn't you be scared as well? Well, guess what? It's the same for all your Pokemon, so I suggest you hand them over!"

"How do you know for sure?" Hilbert asked. "And you can forget about us just giving up our Pokemon!"

"Then I guess we'll just have to take them," the other grunt said, both of them backing up and pulling Poke Balls off their belts. Hilbert and Cheren did likewise.

The grunts threw out the red-and-white spheres, which opened to reveal Patrat. Cheren sent out his Snivy, while Hilbert tossed out Logan.

"Logan, use Bite on the right Patrat!" Hilbert said.

"Tara, Vine Whip on the left one!" Cheren commanded.

"Leer, Patrat!" One grunt cried. His Patart's eyes glowed red, stopping Logan in his tracks.

"Bide, now!" The other grunt commanded.

"Tara, stop!" Cheren yelled, but it was too late. Snivy slashed its vine at the Scout Pokemon, landing a direct hit. The Patrat grimaced in pain, but didn't go down.

Meanwhile, the other grunt had his Patrat use Bite on Logan. With the Puppy Pokemon being a lower level than the Scout Pokemon, the attack did a fair chunk of damage. Logan was successful in shaking it off, landing a Bite of his own.

"Hilbert, I need some help over here!" Cheren said. The Patrat was simply staring Snivy down, waiting for it to make a move. He couldn't attack, but neither could the Patrat, locked into Bide as it was.

"Can you take a rain check? I'm busy right now!" Hilbert said. He was currently having Logan (barely) fend off the overleveled Patrat, trying to get an opening to use Work Up. He saw that both Pokemon were in close proximity to each other, and used that to his advantage. "Logan, Tackle!"

Logan slammed his head into the enemy Patrat, sending it tumbling back. "Now Work Up!" Logan stamped his feet on the ground for a few seconds, then a red glow surrounded him.

Finally fed up with waiting for help that wouldn't come, Cheren was about to order Snivy to attack... but then he glanced up at the ceiling, and got an idea. "Tara, Growth!" The green glow surrounded Snivy, then turned reddish-orange. What Cheren had failed to mention to Hilbert was that Growth increased Attack _and_ Special Attack by one stage each. Though Snivy didn't yet know a Special move, it didn't need to for what Cheren was planning.

"Grab a Woobat from the ceiling using Wrap!" he commanded. The grunt- and his Patrat- looked on in confusion as Snivy plucked a squealing Woobat from its perch on the ceiling, causing the others to go into a panic. "Now toss it at the Patrat!" Cheren yelled.

Snivy did as it was told, spinning around like an Olympic hammer thrower, and let fly the wild Pokemon right at Patrat. Though the average Woobat only weighed 4.6 pounds, 4.6 pounds being flung at high speed is going to hurt. The Woobat slammed into Patrat, knocking out both Pokemon instantly.

The Woobat up above, though, had seen enough. They swooped down from their perch as one huge mass of fur and flapping wings, all trying to get out of the cave at the same time. Needless to say, chaos reigned. A sharp wing caught Hilbert on the cheek, leaving a light cut. "Aah!" He clutched at the stinging wound, feeling a thin trickle of blood on his hand.

"Dammit! Can't see a thing!" One of the grunts yelled over the noise of dozens of flapping wings.

Eventually, the Woobat horde dissipated, managing to fly out of the cave. With their vision clear, the grunts realized what a bad situation they were in then. One of the grunts' Pokemon was down, while Hilbert's and Cheren's were still standing. Both boys ordered their Pokemon to attack the remaining Patrat at the same time. The poor Scout Pokemon didn't stand a chance, being flung backwards, unconscious.

"Now hand over that girl's Pokemon," Cheren said. Suddenly, they heard running footsteps frpm behind them, and the sound of a Poke Ball opening as it was thrown. Turning around, Cheren and Hilbert saw two more grunts run inside the cave, another Patrat trying to keep up.

"Oh, great, so _now_ the cavalry arrives..." One of the defeated grunts said.

"What's going on here?" One of the new grunts asked.

"What do you think?" The defeated one shot back. "We were waiting for you two, but you took too long to get here! Then these kids somehow defeated us in battle!"

"Well isn't that troublesome," the grunt said, he and his partner walking around Cheren and Hilbert. "Not only do these two fail to understand, they actually got in our way, to boot."

"Well, there's two of us and two of them," his partner pointed out. "Why don't we teach them a lesson?" He grabbed a Poke Ball off his belt, the other grunt's Patrat getting ready.

Hilbert immediately recalled Logan to his Poke Ball, swapping him out for Maru. Cheren opted to keep his Snivy out. The grunt threw out his Patrat, while the other ordered his to use Bite on Maru.

"Counter with Water Gun!" Hilbert yelled.

Maru spat a stream of water from his mouth, propelling the Patrat backwards.

"Tara, Vine Whip!" Cheren cried. Snivy ran towards the other Patrat, readying its vines.

"Detect, Patrat!" The grunt said. Patrat's eyes began to glow, but instead of the sinister red of Leer, they turned blue. As Snivy slashed down with its vines, the Patrat unbelievably jumped out of the way.

Snivy looked completely astounded, while Cheren's eyes widened. "Wha-?"

"Now Bite!" The grunt yelled. Patrat clamped its jaws down on Snivy, making it cry out in pain.

"Wrap, Snivy!" Cheren shouted. Snivy grew vines out of its back, wrapping them around Patrat and squeezing until the enemy Pokemon yelled in pain, releasing its jaw's hold. Snivy then tossed the Patrat a few feet away, where it landed with a thud. The Patrat got up, only to be hit in the face with a Vine Whip.

Hilbert was having a much easier time dealing with his opponent, thanks to Maru's Water Gun. All the Patrat could do was try, and fail, to dodge the streams of water. Soon, both boys had their adversaries down.

The grunts recalled their fainted Pokemon with shocked looks on their faces. "I assume there aren't any more reinforcements coming?" Hilbert asked. The grunts, bewildered as they were, didn't reply right away. "Hey!" He snapped. The two men snapped their heads up to meet his angry gaze. "Are there more of you, or not?" He growled.

"Maybe there are, maybe not," one grunt spat. "Why you're getting in our way is what I'm more concerned with."

"Why the hell do you think?" Cheren said. "Because you stole someone's Pokemon, that's why! What reason could possibly justify that?"

"Our cause, that's what," the grunt said. "Trainers like you make Pokemon suffer, but no one but Team Plasma seems to understand that. We'll give you the Pokemon back... but one day, you'll open your eyes to your own complicity."

One of the grunts begrudgingly stepped forward, shoving a Poke Ball into Cheren's hand. The quartet of grunts then ran out of the cave.

Cheren and Hilbert watched as they ran off for a few seconds, then Cheren spoke up. "Were they like this at the Dreamyard, too?"

"Yep," Hilbert said. "Acting high-and-mighty, and convinced what they're doing is right, even when they use Pokemon themselves. They're just hypocrites, but I've got a bad feeling about them. Like they're planning something."

"What I want to know is why they think Trainers are making Pokemon suffer," Cheren said. "Trainers do nothing but bring out the strength of their Pokemon. Battles just so happen to be a part of that process. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to Bianca and give this Pokemon back."

"I think I'll stick around here for a bit; see what I can see." Hilbert said. "Who knows, there might be some items in here or something."

Cheren nodded, heading towards the exit. "Oh, and Cheren?" Hilbert said. "Thanks for the help. Couldn't have done this without you."

A strange look came over Cheren's face. "Don't count on it every time, Hilbert. I won't be around to help all the time. And next time we battle, I _will_ defeat you." With that, he was gone.

Hilbert shrugged a bit, and began his exploration of the cave. His Xtransceiver had a small built-in flashlight, which he used to illuminate the darker corners of the cave. Something glinted off the flashlight's illumination, which he thought was just his imagination, but doing another sweep of the same area, the sparkle was still there. He walked over to it, discovering it was a CD, or more accurately, a TM, half-buried in the dirt. Pulling it out, he used his Pokedex to find it still worked, and was TM46, Thief. None of his Pokemon could learn the move, but he stashed the disk in his bag anyway, just in case.

He was about to leave, when suddenly, he heard a scratching noise behind him. Fearing it might be some trap the Plasma grunts had left behind, he grabbed Maru's Poke Ball off his belt, and whirled around. Nothing was out of the ordinary as far as he could see. He let out a slight grunt of dismissal, and continued walking out. As soon as he did so, the scratching started again.

"Okay," he whispered to himself, "This is weird." He turned on his light and shone it all around the cave. Then he saw it. A small mole-like Pokemon with blue, almost camouflage-like markings on its body was standing not twenty feet away, staring at him inquisitively. "A Drilbur," Hilbert breathed.

Though he had forgotten before now, seeing it jogged his memory. Drilbur was another Pokemon he had done online research on, and it evolved into the monstrously powerful Excadrill, the same Pokemon that had trashed the Striaton City Gym. This was a golden opportunity, and he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.

He threw out Maru's Poke Ball. In a flash, the Sea Otter Pokemon appeared. "Maru, use Water Gun, but don't make it too strong. I don't want that thing knocked out." He said. Maru nodded, and spat a very weak stream of water at the Mole Pokemon. The Drilbur squealed as it was hit with the super-effective attack, weak as it was. Growling, it raced for Maru, brandishing the three large, sharp claws it had on either hand.

Hilbert dug through his bag, finding the Dusk Ball he got in Striaton, and chucked it at the Drilbur. It was absorbed inside, and due to the Ball's high catch rate inside a dark area, it could not escape. The Dusk Ball shook three times, and clicked shut, flashing black for a second.

"Yes!" Hilbert said, walking over and picking up the Ball. He took his Dex out of his pocket to check what information had been recorded on his new team member. "Drilbur," he read its entry aloud. "The Mole Pokemon. It makes its way swiftly through the soil by putting both claws together and rotating at high speed."

Also according to the Pokedex, the Drilbur was male, and knew the moves Mud Sport, Rapid Spin, Mud-Slap, and Fury Swipes. Its Ability was Sand Rush.

"Far cry from Excadrill," Hilbert muttered. "But we'll get there in time." He held the Ball up to his face. "I think I'll call you Scrapper."

With everything in the cave sorted out, he left. He made his way back to the fork in the road, noting Bianca and the little girl were both gone, presumably because Bianca had escorted her back to the daycare. He followed where the road led, south, in the direction of Nacrene City. The path led him along the shores of the lake Cheren had mentioned for a few kilometres. Small zebra-like Electric-type Pokemon called Blitzle lived in herds along the shore, and a few domesticated ones helped power the water treatment plant, which he could now see.

Flocks of Pidove flew overhead as he kept going. He fought any and all wild Pokemon he came across, as he desperately needed to level up his Pokemon. Seeing a field of tall grass that was slightly darker than what he'd become used to by that point, he decided to check it out. Suddenly, he heard Cheren's voice yelling out. Getting a bit closer, he could see his friend in a battle, and a seemingly hopeless one at that, with a wild Blitzle.

"Little help here!" Cheren shouted once he spied Hilbert running up to him. Since Blitzle was an Electric-type, and Ground-types were immune to Electric-type attacks, he sent out Drilbur. The Blitzle, seeing it was outmatched, growled before running off.

"What was that about?" Hilbert asked, returning Drilbur to his Poke Ball, Cheren doing the same with Snivy.

"I was just checking out this area, and I was jumped by that Blitzle," Cheren said. "I-it knocked out my Purrloin in one hit. The Pokemon in this darker tall grass... I think they're higher levelled than normal. Let's get outta here, just in case, then I'm heading on to Nacrene. I need to get to a Pokemon Center ASAP."

Hilbert needed no further explanation. Both of them ran back onto the main path, where it was safe. "Oh, by the way," Cheren said, "The little girl from the daycare told me to give you this. She gave me one, too."

Cheren dug into his backpack and pulled out a pink variety of Poke Ball- a Heal Ball. Heal Balls did exactly as their name implied- they fully healed a Pokemon right after it was caught. Unfortunately, their catch rate was so low, only that of a regular Poke Ball, and Pokemon sent to the PC were healed anyway, rendering them mostly useless.

"Not too great of a reward, huh?" Hilbert said as placed the Ball in his shoulder bag.

"No," Cheren replied. "I was expecting something like a Great Ball, myself. Anyways, I need to get to Nacrene. See you around."

The rest of the trek was uneventful. He crossed boardwalks going west built over the lake itself, and as dusk was approaching, finally reached the gate to Nacrene City.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay. That took forever and a half because IT FELT SO BLOODY LONG OH MY GOD. And the worst part? I'm not very satisfied with it. I could have done way more with the Route than I did, but I had just about had it with this chapter, and wanted it done, so I kinda rushed it. If anyone rips into me in a review for this chapter (not that I'm asking for them, I'll NEVER do that), I don't blame ya. Next chapter will be a lot shorter, and we'll actually get some story progression! Plus, I've got music in mind for Nacrene City that I think you're all gonna love.**


	11. Chapter 9: Another N-counter

**A/N: *pokes head up and looks around nervously* Okay, I think we're in the clear. No more Patrat and Purrloin... at least not for a while. Anyway, the music for this chapter is linked on my profile. In case you're too lazy, it's an excellent rock cover of the Nacrene City theme by Eltinchox. After you're done listening to it, take a moment to ponder how one guy with a couple guitars can utterly destroy an entire symphony orchestra. #PokemonSymphonicEvolutionssucks #ShouldvehiredLittlevMillsFamilyJules7xandguyslikethemNintendo Oh, and as for the title of the chapter, I had to get an N pun in here SOMEWHERE, didn't I?**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 9: Another N-counter

The sun had set as Hilbert walked through the gate to Nacrene City. He got a room at the Pokemon Center, deciding to wait until the next day to fully explore the city. Before going to sleep, he had the nurse look at the cut on his cheek. She said it was only a minor flesh wound, but scolded him for not carrying any disinfectant. She cleaned and bandaged it, then he headed up to his room. The next morning, he had breakfast, went through the excruciatingly boring (and long) process of washing his clothes in the Pokemon Center's dry-cleaning floor, sold the Heal Ball, then went out to sight-see.

Nacrene was very unusual, to say the least. A city made up of restored storehouses for trains more than a century old, it was a gathering place for artists. Obviously, some of the storehouses were too rotted away to be salvaged, and had long since been demolished to make way for more modern buildings, like grocery stores and apartment complexes. Though roads covered most of the ground, a single old railroad had been preserved, running east and west along the city's southernmost row of buildings. It passed in front of the Pokemon Center, before abruptly stopping at the city limits.

Washing his clothes had taken quite a bit of time, and now it was nearing 11:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Artists were out on the streets outside their homes, advertising their wares. Cheren appeared out of the crowd, walking up to him. "Where have you been all day?" he asked.

"Washing my clothes in the Pokemon Center. Y'know, hygiene and all that?" Hilbert replied with a hint of snark.

Cheren rolled his eyes. "Well, while you were doing that, I was asking around town for any information that might be useful. They say the Gym Leader in this city is a terror. She's sent more than one Trainer packing, but I don't know her exact strategy. She does use Normal-Types, that much I gathered.

"Oh, and take these well. I found a stash of them on Route 3." Cheren reached into his backpack and pulled out three Berries with purple tops and brown bottoms, each about the size of chestnuts.

"These are Chesto Berries," he explained. "Give them to your Pokemon to hold, and if they get hit with a move that causes sleep, they'll wake up instantly. One last thing: There's someone who gives a helpful hold item to Trainers. Look for a house with the number 403."

"Thanks," Hilbert said. "I will."

Cheren went on his way, and Hilbert continued his stroll through the city, making sure to keep an eye on the house numbers. Finally, he came across a storehouse near the western edge of town, right near where the train tracks ended. It had big brass numbers next to the door, which obviously were 403. Hilbert knocked on the door. The sound of footsteps approaching from inside told him that someone had heard. A lock was unlatched, and a blond-haired woman opened the door.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked.

"I was hoping you could help me," Hilbert said. "My friend said you give items out to help Trainers."

The woman then took notice of the Poke Balls attached to Hilbert's belt. "Well, then you've come to the right place. Please, come inside." She opened the door a little wider, allowing Hilbert to step into her house. The storehouse's interior was a large, open-concept, single floor home. The walls were decorated with paintings. Examining one, Hilbert found out the artist was someone named Burgh.

"Who's Burgh?" Hilbert asked.

"Oh, he's the Castelia City Gym Leader," the woman replied. "He drew all the paintings you see on the walls in here. After all, he used to own this storehouse until about two years ago. He often comes back to Nacrene when he gets 'artist's block', or something like that. Anyways, introductions. My name is Megan."

She shook hands with Hilbert, who told her his name as well.

"So, Hilbert," she continued, "What starter did you pick?"

"I picked Oshawott," Hilbert said.

"Okay then, I give Mystic Waters out to Water-type Trainers," Megan said. She reached into her pocket, and held out a necklace of sorts. The pendant on the end of the cord was a blue teardrop shape.

"This is a Mystic Water," she explained. "Give it to a Pokemon to hold- it doesn't have to be Oshawott- and the power of its Water-type moves will go up. It'll probably come in very handy on your journey."

"Thank you," Hilbert said, letting Maru's Poke Ball absorb the item. "Just one question: why do you give these things out for free? You must get dozens of Trainers here on a daily basis, so why do this?"

"You know, you're not the first person to ask me that," Megan replied. "It's a matter of Karma, really. Kindness begets kindness, so the saying goes, and I kind of... took that to heart, I guess."

They said their farewells, and Hilbert, eager to get his Badge, headed north, to the Nacrene City Museum, which also housed the Gym. The Museum was a large building of grey stone. Surprisingly, even at this hour of the day, there was no line of challengers for the Gym. _Cheren must not have been kidding when he said this Gym Leader is a terror,_ Hilbert thought. _This place is a ghost town._

He was just about to open the Museum's frosted glass double doors, when someone pushed them open from the inside, almost hitting him in the face.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, stepping backwards.

"Oh, so you were there... I didn't see you." said a voice.

"Yeah, I think the word you're looking for is 'sorry,' buddy," Hilbert muttered. He then got a look at the speaker in question, and started. "N? What are you doing here? Didn't think you'd be the type interested in history."

"To be honest, I'm not," N said in his usual motor-mouthed way. "I was only in there searching for something, and I believe I've found it."

"And what are you searching for?" Hilbert asked, trepidation in his voice.

"I think I've found the answers I'm looking for," N said, "To the truths of Pokemon inside Poke Balls, and the ideals of how Trainers should be. Most importantly, I think I've found how to change the world. But tell me, do you want to do the same? To change the world for Pokemon?"

"Okay, first of all, what the hell are you talking about?" Hilbert said. "And second, why should I care about changing anything? Society seems fine as it is to me."

Unmistakeable rage crossed N's face, which was replaced by a look of disappointment. "I expected more from you, Hilbert. Even you, with your Pokemon saying what it said in Accumula Town, should know better. Now pay attention this time. My friends and I will test you to see if you can back up your claims about the world being 'fine' as is, and if not, I'll _force_ you to understand the future I want."

With that, N pulled a Poke Ball off his belt, and walked to Hilbert's left, to give the Pokemon more room to battle. "Go, Pidove!" N yelled, tossing out the Tiny Pigeon Pokemon.

Pidove was a small, foot-tall Normal/Flying-type. Its body was mostly grey, with black wings and golden eyes. Hilbert, seeing that he had no choice, sent out Logan, and the battle began.

"Pidove, Quick Attack!" N commanded. With shocking speed, Pidove crossed the distance between it and Logan, slamming into the Puppy Pokemon. Logan was sent reeling back.

"Get up, Logan! Use Leer!" Hilbert yelled. Logan pushed himself to his feet, his eyes glowing red. Pidove was frozen in place by the daunting gaze. "Now Bite!"

Logan ran towards the helpless Pidove, only for it to snap out of its daze, but it was too late. Logan had already chomped down on it. However, without a command from N, the Pidove began to flap its wings, beating Logan back with them. Logan was forced to retreat to avoid getting knocked out from the constant barrage.

"Use Leer, Pidove!" N called. Pidove's eyes glowed red, freezing Logan in place. "Go for the Quick Attack!" The Tiny Pigeon Pokemon dashed towards Logan, slamming into him again. This time, however, the blow landed with much more force, sending Logan flying backwards. He got up, but barely.

"A critical hit!?" Hilbert cried. "How!?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" N said. "Pidove has an ability that raises its critical hit ratio by one stage. Now, use Quick Attack again, Pidove!"

Knowing Logan would faint if he took one more hit, Hilbert yelled, "Logan, Leer!" Logan's eyes glowed, stopping Pidove in its tracks. "Go! Use Bite!"

Logan dashed toward Pidove, but he had a lot more ground to cover before he reached it. Pidove was just in the process of shaking off the effects of Leer when Logan chomped down. Pidove cried out, beating its wings, but Logan had wised up to its tactics, letting go and jumping back.

"Tackle, Logan! Don't let it recover!" Hilbert yelled. Logan rammed into Pidove, sending it backwards.

"Gust, Pidove!" N shouted. Pidove flapped its wings in a frenzy, building up a small maelstrom of air that Logan was right in the middle of. He tried to stand his ground, but was blown back, landing hard, and unconscious.

"Logan, return!" Hilbert called. He recalled the Lillipup to its Poke Ball. Deciding that sending out Drilbur would be a bad idea, he tossed out Maru instead. One Water Gun later, and Pidove was handily defeated.

"Come back, Pidove!" N said, returning the fainted Tiny Pigeon Pokemon. However, he was far from finished. "Go, Tympole!"

The Pokemon that N threw out was an incredibly strange, tadpole-like creature. It was blue with a cream-coloured face, no discernible limbs, and a small blue tail. Two black and blue half-spheres were on either side of the head that made up nearly its entire body. It was a Water-type, that much was obvious, but aside from that, Hilbert was in the dark on what it could do.

N fixed that immediately. "Tympole, Supersonic!" Tympole began to vibrate the half-spheres on its head at a rapid speed. Though Hilbert couldn't feel or hear anything, Maru cried out, clutching its ears. After a few seconds, it stopped.

"Maru, Cut!" Hilbert yelled, trying to take advantage of the lull in the action. This was a huge mistake. He didn't know it, but Oshawott was now confused, and the Sea Otter Pokemon was struggling to keep his feet. Doing his best to obey his Trainer's command, he ran for Tympole, but it was like running while looking through a kaleidoscope; everything seemed to have moving copies of itself.

When he was sure he was in range, Maru slashed with his shell, only to not just miss by a foot, but hit _himself_ in the face with it, too. "What the hell!?" Hilbert cried. "Maru, snap out of it!"

"Bubble Beam!" N called. Tympole spat a stream of bubbles from its mouth, all of them striking Maru. Maru cried out in pain.

"Dammit, Maru, come on!" Hilbert yelled. "Focus Energy!" Finally seeming to snap out of confusion, a yellow glow surrounded Maru, and faded. "Use Cut! Put everything you've got into this!"

Oshawott ran for Tympole, slashing it with its shell. The attack, though critical, was still not enough for the one hit KO. Tympole got back up, but its health, had there been a screen nearby to show, was quite clearly in the red.

"Growl!" N yelled.

"Water Gun!" Hilbert commanded.

Tympole opened its mouth and let out a sound wave, just as Maru did the same, spitting a stream of water at Tympole. The speed of sound beat the speed of water, but water had infinitely more force behind it. The not very effective attack hit, but since Tympole was so low on health anyways, it was more than enough.

N recalled the unconscious Tadpole Pokemon, throwing out his last Poke Ball. "Go, Timburr!" In a flash of light, the Muscular Pokemon appeared. Muscular was certainly an apt term to describe Timburr. It was a bipedal, grey Fighting-type. Pink, vein-like bulges stuck out of its body in various places. It carried a large squared log to use as a weapon.

"Go for Low Kick!" N yelled. Timburr, being as nimble as it could be while carrying a heavy chunk of wood, ran for Maru.

"Water Gun!" Hilbert yelled. With Water Gun's power boosted even further by the Mystic Water, it blasted Timburr back a good distance.

"Leer, Timburr!" N yelled. Timburr's eyes turned from dark grey to red, freezing Maru in place. "Now try Low Kick again!"

Timburr dashed for Maru, but it had a lot of ground to cover to get to him. "You know what to do, Maru, Water Gun!" Hilbert yelled. Another powerful stream of water was shot from Oshawott's mouth, resulting in a direct hit on the slower Timburr, who was unable to dodge. With one more Water Gun after that, Timburr was down.

"Yeah! Great job, Maru!" Hilbert said.

"So apparently the world's decision is yet to be determined..." N muttered, returning Timburr as Hilbert did the same with Maru. He pulled his Trainer Card out of his pocket and walked toward Hilbert.

"As I said in Accumula Town, don't get too used to doing this," he said as he tapped Cards with the shorter boy. "My friends and I aren't strong enough to save all Pokemon... at least, not yet. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world, and make it perfect for Pokemon on my own. That means I need power. Power enough to make anyone agree with me."

"That's called a dictatorship, N," Hilbert said crossly. "Those generally aren't looked at in high esteem anywhere in the world."

"That is true," N said as he walked away. He stopped about ten feet from Hilbert, however, and continued to speak, looking over his shoulder. "At least I know now what power I need. I need... Reshiram! The Legendary Pokemon, that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's time for me to become that hero, and that is how I will change the world! Not through dictatorship, but through people willingly compiling!"

With that, he walked out of Hilbert's line of sight, and was gone. "Okay, now I've _really_ got a bad feeling about him," Hilbert murmured. "And what the fuck was he talking about with becoming a hero?"

Troubling thoughts swirling in his head, Hilbert walked to the Pokemon Center, healed his Pokemon, and went back to the Museum, entering it. An attendant behind a desk noticed him as he walked in.

"Welcome to the Nacrene City Museum," she said. "If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Thank you, I won't," Hilbert said.

"Oh, and by the way," the woman informed him, "I study Pokemon fossils. If you have one, you can bring it to me, and I'll turn it back into a Pokemon for you."

Now Hilbert was interested. "You can do that?"

The attendant nodded. "Oh, of course! The power of science really is quite something. We've been able to do it since before Red set out on his journey. There are places to restore Pokemon fossils all over the world, and this Museum happens to be one of them."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

Hilbert kept going down a hallway, entering the main (and really only) area of the building. There wasn't much to the place, just a single large room that displayed various historical items, both human and Pokemon-related alike. The central feature of the room was a massive skeleton, one that resembled a Dragon-Type Pokemon from Kanto, Dragonite. Hilbert looked up at its head, letting out a low whistle.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" A voice said. Hilbert looked left to see a man in lab coat- obviously one of the staff- walking up to him. He looked up at the skeleton too. "Every time I look at this thing, I'm always fascinated just imaging what this creature was and the life it led."

He snapped out of his daze. "Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Hawes, the assistant director of the Museum."

"Hilbert. Pleased to meet you." Hilbert shook hands with him. "And honestly, yeah, it is. Fascinating, I mean. Do you know where the Gym is, by any chance? I'm here to challenge it."

"Well, of course I know," Hawes said. "After all, she's my wife! But be warned, people are _not_ kidding when they sat she's tough. The Gym is located at the back of the Museum. Do you want a tour of this place, first? Maybe it'll take your mind off the pre-Gym jitters."

"Okay," Hilbert said.

Hawes led him to another Pokemon fossil. This one was more of a traditional fossil, with a Pokemon skeleton encased in stone. Better yet, it was a Pokemon Hilbert had never seen before. "What is this?" he asked.

"This is a fossil of a foreign Pokemon from the Hoenn region, dug up by a Gym Leader there named Roxanne. It's an Armaldo." Hawes explained. "It and its pre-evolution, Anorith, went extinct millions of years ago."

Hilbert suddenly got an idea, taking out his Pokedex. _I bet I'd make Juniper real proud if I got a Pokemon registered as 'seen' in this thing that's not only foreign, but extinct to boot,_ he thought. To his disappointment, though, the Pokemon wouldn't show up in his Dex, no matter what angle he pointed it at the fossil.

Hawes merely chuckled. "You're not the first one to have tried that. From my admittedly limited understanding of how those things work, the Pokemon has to be _alive_ to be registered in a Pokedex." Hilbert let out a frustrated grunt, putting his Pokedex away.

From there, Hawes led Hilbert on a quick tour, never stopping at one display too long, to avoid boring the boy. Finally, he stopped at a black stone, about the size of a small watermelon, with three notches cut out of it. "And finally, we come to this Museum's least interesting exhibit," he said. "An ordinary carved piece of obsidian. It was found near the desert, but other than that, there's nothing special about it. We just display it because it looks pretty."

Hilbert however, was deaf to everything Hawes was saying. He kept staring at the stone, tilting his head to the side, looking at his reflection in the polished surface. He then became aware of something... else, a noise almost, like a roaring in his head. It was faint, but it was there. It almost sounded like the rumble of thunder, now that he thought about it.

Hawes noticed the apparent trance Hilbert had fallen into, and gave him a slight pat on the arm. "Hey... are you alright? You kinda spaced out there for a second."

Hilbert blinked several times, coming back to his senses. "Oh! Uh, yeah, I'm fine. What were you saying again?"

Hawes gave him a scrutinizing look, but brushed off the issue. "The Gym is right through that door," he said, pointing to a door in the back of the room.

"Okay, thank you for the tour!" Hilbert said, walking towards the door. It was time to face the second Gym, come hell or high water. Unbeknownst to him, hell is exactly what he would get.

* * *

 **A/N: That's another chapter down! ...And a million more to go. I wasn't joking around at the top, by the way, I really** _ **do**_ **think that shitshow of an orchestra is a disgrace to the excellent music of Pokemon. I haven't gone myself (for obvious reasons) but I've listened to some of it via YouTube. Now, I can forgive the poor audio quality of the videos (as the were recorded live during the 'event'). I can forgive the fact that people are** _ **clapping and cheering**_ **(which is** _ **incredibly**_ **rude during an orchestra, but hey, the Viewers Are Morons trope exists for a reason, and that's because it's true). What I cannot forgive though, is just how... BAD the orchestrations are. They're more like castrations than orchestrations. Seriously, go compare ANY of LittlevMills or FamilyJules7x's covers to that orchestra. It's like comparing a busted, broken-down Model T Ford to a Ferrari! And do not even get me started on Pokemon Reorchestrated. Those guys are even** _ **worse,**_ **if that's possible!**


	12. Chapter 10: Plasma Strikes Again

**A/N: Oh, are you all, perchance, expecting me to apologize for the things I said about... no, I'm not even going to utter its horrid name. Instead, I'm gonna put in a shameless plug for LittlevMills's album, Wants To Battle, which you should all totally go buy. And to the one Guest reviewer: Sorry, person-who-apparently-lacks-the-intelligence-to-put-a-period-at-the-end-of-their-sentences, but no, it ain't. 'Sides, haven't you ever heard of a retcon? Zelda isn't real in the context of being a fictional story here, dipshit. If you review again to spout off more of your mindless drivel that has no concrit whatsoever, I'll start deleting them.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be The Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 10: Plasma Strikes Again

Hilbert sat down on the soggy ground, wondering where he went wrong. It was a week after he defeated N, and challenged the Nacrene City Gym Leader. No one had been kidding when they said she was a terror. The Gym Leader, a no-nonsense woman named Lenora, had utterly wiped the floor with him. _Twice._ Her Gym was almost pathetically easy- a simple find-the-right-book scavenger hunt in a library that a three year old would not find hard, and the Trainers had been equally painless.

However, the Gym Leader herself was a much different story. Hilbert was sure the simplicity of her Gym was a bait-and-switch tactic to lull people into a false sense of security. She had fought him with only two Pokemon: the evolved form of Lillipup, Herdier, and Patrat's final evolutionary stage, Watchog. The Herdier had been somewhat difficult, but then... that Watchog. That damnable Watchog.

Hilbert sighed remembering it. Lenora's strategy was deviously evil. She used a move called Retaliate, which doubled in power if used to avenge a fainted Pokemon. Its base power was 70 before the boost. One could easily do the math. Hilbert's Pokemon never stood a chance. Undeterred, he simply levelled them up some, Maru and Logan evolving and learning new moves in the process, and fought her again. The result was the same.

Currently, he was in a large, partially deforested field, about ten minutes away from the city. It had been raining recently, so the ground was wet and pockmarked with puddles. Logan and Scrapper were out of their Poke Balls, engaging in mock battle, while Maru sat next to him.

"What are we gonna do, Maru?" Hilbert asked the newly evolved Dewott dishearteningly. Dewott was very different than Oshawott. It remained bipedal, but was a foot taller, and was primarily light blue, as opposed to Oshawott's white colouration. Its tail was now longer and black, as were its paws, but the most notable thing about Dewott was the fringe of blue fur around its waist, with a seashell on either thigh.

Maru, for his part, could only look down at the ground, offering a disappointed, "Dew..." in response.

"I mean, we could always level grind, but that'll take a million years," Hilbert said. "Even the Audino we've been using aren't giving out as much experience as they used to, 'cause you're all higher-levelled than them."

Audino were pink and cream, bipedal Normal-type Pokemon. They were very passive, rendering them largely useless for most Trainers' teams, however, when defeated, they gave out a lot of experience. Unfortunately, they, along with every other Pokemon in Unova, gave out the highest amounts of experience to Pokemon that were lower-levelled than them. The highest-levelled Audino in the area were level 15, but Hilbert's Pokemon were all level 19!

"What we need is a Fighting-type, Maru," Hilbert said. "Problem with that is, the only Fighting-types we've seen around here are Timburr." Timburr, he had learned to his dismay after his first loss to Lenora, only evolved into their final form, Conkeldurr, when traded with another person. Hilbert had no idea how that even worked. The bottom line was, Timburr would become increasingly useless as time went on, and he wanted Pokemon for his team that could carry him through the entire region.

To make matters worse, Cheren had somehow actually won against Lenora on his first try. Using his newly-evolved Servine's Leaf Tornado move, it had somehow caused Retaliate to _miss_ , and the battle was in hand from there. The black-haired boy had gloated endlessly to about it Hilbert afterwards.

It was this taunting that made Hilbert not want to give up. Oddly enough though, he had stopped hearing the thunder-like rumbling from the piece of obsidian, while Cheren had mentioned he actually had started to hear it.

A cry from Scrapper broke him out of his recollections. The Mole Pokemon had failed to avoid a Bite from Logan, and one of his clawed hands was now trapped in the Loyal Dog Pokemon's fangs.

Hilbert stood up, brushing off the backside of his jeans. "Alright, that's enough! Break it up you two!" He walked over to his Pokemon, Maru following him. "Scrapper, how many times have we gone over this? If that happens, Metal Claw with your other hand. And Logan, use Take Down next time, it's more powerful."

He sighed before returning all three of his Pokemon to their Poke Balls. He was just about to walk back to the city, when he heard muffled sort of pounding in the distance. The field he was currently in was actually the outskirts of Pinwheel Forest, a large wooded area next to the road. He wandered a bit farther into the field, the pounding getting louder. Suddenly, he saw the source of the pounding.

It was a humanoid, blue Pokemon, wearing a light blue Karate gi, repeatedly kicking a tree with its three-toed feet.

"A Sawk!?" Hilbert whispered excitedly. While he hadn't read anything online about Sawk, the force behind its kicks was enough to shake the tree. A idea, however risky, formed in his mind. He had bought a few Great Balls at the Poke Mart, and hopefully they would be sufficient to catch the wild Sawk once it had been weakened somewhat.

"Go, Maru!" He threw out Dewott's Poke Ball. The Sawk stopped in its training at the noise, turning to face the Discipline Pokemon and its Trainer. An expression of rage came over the Sawk's face.

"Maru, Razor Shell!" Hilbert yelled. Razor Shell was a physical Water-type attack with 75 base power. Since Dewott also got STAB with it, it was far superior to Tackle. Maru took both seashells off its thighs, and dashed for the wild Pokemon.

Sawk, however, wasn't the least bit afraid. As Dewott got close, it spun on its heel, delivering a devastating kick. Maru was sent flying backwards, landing near Hilbert.

" _Maru!_ " Hilbert yelled. "Come on, get up!" Maru pushed himself to his feet, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Try Water Gun this time, buddy," Hilbert said. "If we can catch that thing, defeating Lenora will be easy."

Maru gave a brief nod, then spat a stream of water at the Sawk. It dodged with relative ease, then ran for its attacker and his Trainer. "Oh, shit," Hilbert said, panic creeping into his tone. "Maru! Water Gun, now!"

Due to Sawk's closer proximity, the attack was successful in hitting the Karate Pokemon. It fell backwards, stunned. Hilbert quickly dug through his bag for a Great Ball. He chucked it at the downed Sawk, and it was absorbed inside.

As the Ball shook, Hilbert and Maru moved closer. This was a move the human boy would regret, as on the second shake, the sphere exploded, causing shrapnel to fly everywhere. One shard sliced across Hilbert's right arm, tearing the sleeve of his jacket and missing his bicep's main artery by millimetres.

"Agh! Fuck!" He clamped a hand over his wounded arm, feeling a warm stream of blood soaking his sleeve. Trying his best to ignore the pain, he commanded Maru to use Water Gun again. The Sawk was hit dead-on.

Hilbert took his hand off his arm briefly to dig through his bag again, taking out another Great Ball. He threw it at the Sawk, and again, the Karate Pokemon was sucked inside. This time, the capture was successful; the Ball rocked three times, and clicked, flashing black.

"Okay... ah... that could've gone better," Hilbert winced. He picked up the Great Ball, attaching it to his belt, and returned Maru to his Poke Ball. Unfortunately, he was in a very bad situation now. His wound was bleeding profusely, he had no bandages, and was over ten minutes away from civilization. Still, he had at least try to get back to Nacrene. Better to die trying than bleed to death in a field.

The nurse at the Pokemon Center's main desk gasped when Hilbert stumbled into the building. The right sleeve of his blue jacket was soaked in blood, at he looked unsteady on his feet. She immediately ran out from behind the desk to help support the boy before he collapsed. "What happened to you?" she asked as he put his arm around her shoulders for additional help in walking.

"Don't ask," Hilbert grunted. "Just get me to a hospital bed before I pass out."

"Okay, I'll call the doctors," the nurse said. "I'm really not qualified to take care of people, just Pokemon."

They made it to the desk, the nurse calling someone with a phone. Hilbert was quickly rushed upstairs by other Pokemon Center staff, and given anaesthesia. The last thing he knew before sleep overtook him was his own breathing.

Several hours later, he awoke. Still groggy, he blinked several times, trying to sit up. "Careful, there," a voice said to his left.

Hilbert rubbed his eyes with one hand, slowly coming back to his senses. He turned his head to his left, seeing a man- a doctor, most likely- standing near his bed. "Wh-what happened?" Hilbert groaned.

"Putting it bluntly, a lot," the doctor said. "You lost a fair amount of blood, young man. Plus, that wound on your arm was actually rather deep, so we had to stitch it up. How in the world did you get that, anyway?"

"Catching a Pokemon," Hilbert said. "Long story short, I got too close to the Ball when the Pokemon broke out, and a piece of shrapnel hit me."

"Do I dare ask what Pokemon you were trying to catch?" The doctor said.

"I was trying to- well, I actually I _caught-_ a Sawk," Hilbert replied. The doctor's eyes widened.

"Then you're lucky to be alive," the doctor said. "Sawk and its counterpart, Throh, are very dangerous Fighting-types. Their base Attack stats are through the roof. Even at the levels they're at around here, people are advised to keep away from them. I'd call you a fool if you were a local."

"How do you know I'm not from around here?" Hilbert asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, for one thing, we checked your Trainer Card," the doctor informed him. "Standard operating procedure, really. Hilbert Touya, if I'm not mistaken? From Nuvema Town?"

"Yeah, that'd be me," Hilbert said. "I'm on a Trainer's journey, but, well, you knew that already. Guess this might put that on hold though, right?"

"No, actually," the doctor said. "You should be fine in a few more days. We'll let you go tomorrow. Just keep bandages on the stitched area, and keep it clean. Also, make sure to carry medical supplies from now on. Lots of Trainers don't, and it gets them killed. You're one of the lucky ones. I'll let you get some rest."

The doctor walked out of the room, and Hilbert turned over on his side, closing his eyes.

The next day, Hilbert walked out of the Pokemon Center, a roll of bandages in his shoulder bag, his stitched wound patched with a gauze, and his now-ruined jacket slung over his shoulder. The Center staff had given him instructions on how to care for his wound, and for him to go to any Pokemon Center later on to have the stitches removed.

"Alright, first things first," he said to himself, "Buying a new jacket." Thankfully, Nacrene, being the artsy city it was, had plenty of clothing shops, both designer and otherwise, so he was able to find a replacement. The only difference between his old jacket and new one, was that the new one had a zip-on detachable hood, while the old one had a built-in hood. He threw his old jacket in the nearest trash bin he could find.

He walked towards the Museum, taking a swig of water. He was told to drink plenty of fluids to regain lost blood, and he needed to be in top condition for the coming battle. Getting past the Gym's puzzle was the easy part, as no Trainers challenged him, he having beaten them all. All he had to do to open the way to where the Gym Leader waited was say a four-digit code to the caretaker, Clyde, and a bookcase slid aside, revealing a stairway leading down.

Taking a deep breath, he took stock of his supplies. He had given his Sawk- whom he had nicknamed Sensei- his last Chesto Berry, having used up his other two in his botched battles. Lenora's Watchog knew a sleep-inducing move, Hypnosis, which she had used to devastating effect the last two times.

Finally ready, he walked down the stairs into an office of sorts. It was a large room, with the screen on the back wall, and various bookshelves were along the walls. In the centre of the room, a big Poke Ball insignia was carved into the floor.

Lenora was sitting at her desk, looking over some paperwork, but she looked up upon hearing Hilbert's footsteps. "Ah, welcome back, Hilbert," she said. "You're not one to give up easily, are you?" Lenora looked the same as she did the last two times Hilbert had fought her. She wore teal jeans that matched her hair and eye colour, and a fancy-looking off-white shirt. A huge beige apron was hanging off her desk chair.

Lenora stood up, pressing a button on her desk that made it retract into the floor, and also caused steel panels to cover the bookshelves, protecting their contents from harm. The screen lit up. "No, I don't, especially when one of my so-called 'friends' mocks me," Hilbert replied. He took Sensei's Poke Ball off his belt, waving it tauntingly. "Plus, I've got a secret weapon this time."

"Let me guess, a Fighting-type?" Lenora smirked. "Please, you think I haven't dealt with those before? My Pokemon have taken many Fighting-type down in the past, so what makes you think the result will be any different than our previous battles?"

"I guess we'll have to see who comes out on top, won't we?" Hilbert shot back. "Go, Logan!" He somewhat awkwardly threw out his Herdier using his uninjured but non-dominant left arm. Herdier was a two foot tall, canine Pokemon with cream fur on its face that formed a three-pointed crest and moustache. It had dark blue fur covering most of its body, which was quite dense and hard, serving to protect it from attacks, according to the Pokedex.

"Come on out, Herdier!" Lenora tossed out her own Loyal Dog Pokemon. The screen displayed the health bars of both Pokemon.

"Start off with Take Down!" Hilbert yelled. Take Down was the new move Logan had learned when it evolved. It was a 90 base power move, but was somewhat inaccurate, due to the reckless nature of the charge it sent the Pokemon using it into.

"Herdier, Take Down as well!" Lenora commanded as Logan charged towards her Pokemon.

Hilbert cried out for Logan to dodge, but there was no stopping with how much momentum had been built up. Both Pokemon slammed headfirst into each other, taking sizable chunks out of both health bars.

"Bite!" Lenora yelled. Her Herdier shook its head regaining its senses, and lunged for Logan. He howled in pain as the other Herdeir chomped down with its sharp fangs, then quickly backed off to avoid any counterattack.

Logan's health bar was already close to the yellow. _This isn't good,_ Hilbert thought. He needed to take out the Herdeir and sacrifice Logan to the Watchog to bring Sensei in safely and revenge kill the Lookout Pokemon.

"Logan, Leer, then Bite!" Hilbert said. Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing the other Herdier in place. He then rushed for the other Pokemon as it tried to recover. He chomped down, getting in some decent damage, then backed off.

"Don't let it get away, Herdier! Retaliate!" Lenora shouted.

"Oh, crap," Hilbert said. "Logan, Take Down, now!"

A yellow glow surrounded the Herdier as it charged towards Logan. Undeterred, Logan did the same. However, the enemy Herdier was charging faster, and with more force. It slammed into Logan, sending him flying back, where he landed with a hard THUD, fainted.

Hilbert growled as he recalled Logan to his Poke Ball. _Well, there goes plan A,_ he thought. "Go, Maru!" He threw out the Poke Ball containing his now-evolved starter. In a flash of light, the Discipline Pokemon appeared. "Water Gun, now!"

Maru opened his mouth and shot a stream of water at the Herdier.

"Dodge it, Herdier!" Lenora shouted. Herdier nimbly jumped out of the way, growling at Maru. Maru only gave it a determined glare back. "Take Down!" The Gym Leader commanded. Herdier dashed for Maru, building up speed as it ran.

"Dodge and use Razor Shell!" Hilbert yelled. Maru took the seashells off its thighs, jumping to the side and slashing at Herdier as it ran past. The Loyal Dog Pokemon yowled as it was hit with the makeshift blades. The attack knocked a little over a quarter of the Herdier's health off, but it was far from done. It turned around, growling.

"Herdier, Bite!" Lenora called. The Herdier clamped its maw down on Maru's arm. He cried out, attempting to bash the Herdier over the head with his other shell, but Herdier backed off before he could.

"Water Gun, Maru!" Hilbert said. The close range stream of water pushed Herdier back even further, towards where the stairs were, and Hilbert was actually forced to turn around to see both Pokemon.

"Take Down, Herdier!" Lenora cried.

"Use Razor Shell!" Hilbert yelled.

Herdier ran towards Maru, who slashed with his shells. The two attacks collided, Maru being flung backwards, the Herdier yelping in pain.

Hilbert glanced back at the screen. The Herdier was on a tiny sliver of health, the bar now in the red. "Maru, use Water Gun before it can recover!" he shouted.

Maru again shot a stream of water out of his mouth, hitting the Herdier dead-on, as it was too weak to dodge. The Loyal Dog Pokemon wavered on its feet, then collapsed.

"Come back, Herdier!" Lenora said, returning the Normal-type Pokemon to its Ball. Maru ran back to Hilbert's side as Lenora pulled her second and final Poke Ball off her belt. "Well, doesn't this situation seem familiar?" She tossed the Ball up and down in a mockery of what Hilbert had done earlier. "You already know what's coming, Hilbert, so why don't you give up now? It'll save you the feeling of losing a third time."

"Not a chance," Hilbert said.

"Okay, it's your funeral, _again,_ " Lenora said. "Go, Watchog!" She tossed out the Pokemon that had been the bane of Hilbert's existence for the past week. Watchog was a meerkrat-like Pokemon with yellow striping on its body that resembled a safety vest, which Hilbert considered extremely ironic, given how the damned thing was anything _but_ a safety worker. Its cheeks and red eyes were bulbous, and its fur was reddish-brown.

"Watchog, _Retaliate!"_ Lenora yelled. Watchog began to charge toward Maru, a yellow glow highlighting its body.

"Maru, don't dodge!" Hilbert yelled. "Take this one for the team!" Seconds after he said that, the Watchog slammed into the Discipline Pokemon, sending him across the room to slam into the wall. Maru's health bar shot down to nothing in an instant.

Hilbert recalled Maru, pulling Sensei's Poke Ball off his belt. "Let's hope this works," he said to himself. He tossed out the Karate Pokemon.

Even Lenora seemed taken slightly aback by the Sawk. She had guessed Hilbert had obtained a Timburr, not a powerhouse Pokemon with a base 125 Attack stat! However, she wouldn't fold simply because of what the opponent had. "Watchog, Hypnosis, then Retaliate!"

Watchog locked eyes with Sawk, shooting a strange energy beam from its red orbs. It connected with Sawk, and his eyes closed, the blue Pokemon falling to the ground, asleep. Watchog then began to charge for its downed opponent.

Suddenly, Sensei began to glow as the Chesto Berry took effect. His eyes snapped open, and he pushed himself to his feet. "Sensei, Double Kick!" Hilbert yelled. The Karate Pokemon took a fighting stance, and spun on its heel when Watchog came into range. He slammed his foot into the Lookout Pokemon, sending it to the ground. Its health bar went down to half from the super-effective hit. However, the blue Pokemon wasn't done. He kicked the Watchog while it was down like a soccer player, sending it tumbling away. With that last blow, the battle was won, the Watchog's health bar disappearing to nothing.

"Yes!" Hilbert yelled. He ran up to his new team member. "We did it, Sensei! We finally beat that thing!" The Karate Pokemon merely gave a humble bow as Hilbert and Lenora recalled their respective Pokemon.

"Well, apparently my theory about you was wrong," Lenora said as she walked up to him. She tapped Trainer Cards with him to give him his prize money. "I thought you were just another weak, untalented Trainer, but it turns out, you're not just lucky and talented... you're motivated!"

"Does this mean I can finally have my Badge now?" Hilbert asked.

Lenora chuckled. "Of course it does." She took the Badge out of her back pocket, the steel panels sliding up and her desk coming back. Hilbert took a look at the Basic Badge. Like the name implied, it was very plain; just a simple rectangular piece of brass with a purple inlay.

"Oh, and I bet you also want this too, right?" Lenora continued. She took a TM out of her pocket, handing it to Hilbert. "This is the move that I've beaten so many wannabe Trainers with- TM67, Retaliate. I'd explain what it does, but you know that already, don't you?"

Hilbert grimaced. "More than I ever wanted to know, but thanks all the same."

He had just put his Badge away in his case when they heard Hawes' voice yell, "Deeaar!" Hilbert and Lenora's expressions turned to confusion as Hawes came running into the room. He dashed up to his wife. "You have to come with me, right now!" he cried, not seeming out of breath at all.

"What is it?" Lenora asked.

"It's some people that call themselves Team Plasma!" Hawes said in a panic. "They've invaded the Museum!"

"Team Plasma!?" Hilbert exclaimed.

"You know them?" Lenora asked.

"Yeah, I've had run-ins with them recently, and they're bad news," Hilbert said. "Whatever they're planning on doing here can't be good, so we've gotta get upstairs!" All three of them ran out of Lenora's office/battle arena, through the Gym, and back into the Museum area. What they saw shocked them. The largest group of grunts Hilbert had seen yet were gathered around the Dragonite skeleton's display area. One of them was even perched on a ladder that reached the skeleton's skull.

"Just what in hell do you think you're doing!?" Lenora shrieked. One of the grunts stepped forward.

"So you're here, you pathetic, Pokemon-abusing Gym Leader," he sneered. Lenora grit her teeth.

"We, Team Plasma, will claim this skeleton in the name of Pokemon Liberation! Drop the smokescreen!"

With that, the grunts pulled purple spheres from their pockets, each about the size of a ping-pong ball. Lenora barely had time to yell, "Smoke Ball!" before the grunts threw the orbs at the ground, each one shattering on impact and releasing a huge smoke cloud.

The smoke caused Hilbert's, Lenora's, and Hawes' eyes to water and their throats to burn, and they started coughing uncontrollably. Over the sound of his own hacking, Hilbert heard the grunts yelling to each other.

"W-we need to get outta here!" Lenora managed to yell, but then her ability to speak dissolved into a fit of coughs. The trio stumbled around, coughing and kneading their eyes, but the smoke eventually cleared. Finally able to see, they could assess the damage. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for one thing: the dragon skull's lower jaw was gone.

Lenora dashed out of the Museum, Hilbert hot on her heels, wondering why the world had suddenly gone crazy.

* * *

 **A/N: Random rant: I'm noticing a disturbing trend on the rise (mostly among retarded retards who can't write/spell to save their lives and likely don't get how the damn website works** ), **and it's that people are reviewing their own stories. My question is, why? It's immoral, unethical, and stupid. I've even seen one story whose 'author' (who shall remain nameless) was reviewing their own story to let readers know about** _ **chapter availability. Which the follow system does anyway.**_ **Like, what the fuck? If you want to reply to a review, that's what the PM system is for, idiots. Use it. Don't artificially inflate your own review count.**


	13. Chapter 11: Pinwheel Forest

**A/N: So apparently an HD remake of Twilight Princess is happening. Who's excited? I'm not! Not me! Yeah... as if you couldn't tell by my opinion of Midna in chapter 1, I don't exactly hold that game in high regard. Just the thought of there being more fascist fantards of that overrated Mary Sue makes me sick. If, by chance, any of said fantards are reading this story, screw off. I do not the have time or patience to deal with your BS bellyaching.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 11: Pinwheel Forest

As Lenora and Hilbert exited the Nacrene City Museum, they saw Team Plasma's heist had not necessarily gone unnoticed. A large group of people were standing outside the doors, each one making a cacophony of noise with their frantic questions, as police attempted to maintain order. With a groan of annoyance, Lenora saw one of the officers had a megaphone, and wasn't using it. Muttering something along the lines of, "Useless cops," she marched over to him and snatched it. "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!" She shouted into it. "I WANT EVERYONE TO SHUT THEIR DAMN MOUTHS RIGHT NOW, SO I CAN HEAR MYSELF THINK!" That shut everybody up in a hurry.

Noticing Cheren and Bianca in the crowd, Hilbert tapped Lenora on the shoulder, pointing at them. "Can you let those two people through, please? They're with me." Lenora called them both to come forward, the human blockade the police were forming stepping aside.

"Well, been a while, hasn't it?" Cheren said as he walked up to Hilbert. "You got your Badge, I assume? Took you long enough."

Hilbert took a deep breath, trying to remain calm in the face of his 'friend's' arrogance. "Yeah, no thanks to you. The only reason you won yours was because of dumb luck, anyway."

"Oh, really?" Cheren shot back, gritting has teeth. "Wanna put your money where your mouth is and prove that? I'll take you on right here, right now!"

Lenora sighed. She gestured for Bianca to cover her ears. "HEY!" She shouted into the megaphone. While Bianca had put her hands over her ears, Cheren and Hilbert had no such protection. "WHY DON'T YOU TWO DO ME A FAVOUR AND STOP FIGHTING, WOULD YA? IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, TEAM PLASMA'S NOT GETTING ANY CLOSER!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of huge wings flapping, and a gigantic bird Pokemon appeared in the sky. The crowd of people scattered to make room for it as it came in for a landing. Its Trainer hopped off, returning the Pokemon, a Braviary, to its Ball. The Trainer was a very strangely-dressed man. He was tall and lanky, wearing pants with green, black and strawberry-pink coloured stripes, a green long sleeved shirt, and a scarf the same colour as the dominating shade of his pants. He had a belt buckle that was the shape of a Butterfree, a butterfly-like Pokemon from Kanto. A mop of shaggy light brown hair was atop his head.

The crowd whispered amongst themselves at the man's arrival. Just like last time with Cilan, albeit now due to his ears ringing, Hilbert was deaf to the murmuring. The man turned to Lenora. "What's all the commotion about?" he asked her. "Whole bunch of challengers? Some new exhibit? Speaking of that, have you found any new fossils lately, Lenora?"

"It's more like getting an exhibit back, not getting a new one, Burgh!" Lenora cried frantically. "Some thugs calling themselves Team Plasma just stole a part of the Dragonite skeleton! They're getting away as we speak!"

"Team Plasma?" Burgh said. "I've seen them around Castelia City; some guy named Ghestis was making weird speeches, said he was part of the organization. They don't seem to be doing that much harm, though, so I've let them be."

"Well, obviously they do mean harm!" Lenora cried. "We have to get that skeleton piece back!"

By now, Hilbert and Cheren's ears had mostly stopped ringing, but since they were deaf to the conversation Burgh and Lenora were having, they had no idea who he was. "What's going on again?" Cheren said, louder than he'd normally talk. He pointed at Burgh. "And who's he?"

Lenora was about to use the megaphone to shout the answer at him, but Bianca grabbed her arm, lowering it. "Maybe it'd be best if you didn't use that," she said. "I think you almost gave them permanent hearing loss."

Lenora cupped her hands around her mouth instead, shouting at the two boys. "This is Burgh! He's the Castelia City Gym Leader!"

Cheren and Hilbert winced. "You don't need to yell anymore," Hilbert said, but even this was said louder than he normally spoke. "All you need to do is talk a bit louder, that's all."

"Maybe we should all just shut it and focus on our current issue," Cheren suggested, rubbing his pained ears. "I mean, they are getting away. And at least then you won't make our hearing any worse than you've already made it."

Lenora sighed. "Yes, that is important, isn't it?"

"Yeah, just a little," Hilbert muttered.

"Alright, so they could have only gone one of two different ways. To Pinwheel Forest, or to Route 3," Burgh said. "I'll take the forest. Hey kid," he turned to Hilbert. "How are your Pokemon doing?"

"Two of them are fainted," he answered. "The other's fine."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Burgh urged, "Go heal them! We don't have any time to waste!"

Hilbert nodded, dashing through the crowd towards the Pokemon Center. Lenora addressed the police. "I want some of you to go to the gate that leads to Route 3. No one gets in or out of the city without being checked first, got it? The others, go with Burgh and guard the road along Pinwheel Forest. I'll stay behind and keep an eye on the Museum."

With a simultaneous, "Yes ma'am!" from all the cops, they ran off to their assigned posts.

"What should we do, Lenora?" Bianca asked.

"Us three will stay behind and watch the Museum," Lenora replied. "If any of those thugs come back, we'll make them wish they hadn't."

"Amen to that," Cheren said. "But I do have to wonder... why did they steal a part of the skeleton in the first place? What were they hoping to do with it?"

"We'll figure out their motive later," Lenora said as they walked inside the Museum. "After they're all behind bars." Meanwhile, the crowd, realizing the excitement was over, slowly dissipated.

Hilbert ran out of the Pokemon Center, his Pokemon fully healed up. After telling the nurse what happened, and where he was going, she recommended stocking up on healing items, including status healers. Pinwheel Forest was crawling with Bug and Grass-types, so conditions such as sleep and poison were common. He had bought two Awakenings, Antidotes, and Super Potions, which partially filled his bag.

Putting his shoes to the test, he sprinted through the streets, heading northwest, in the direction of Pinwheel Forest. He ran past the field where he got his Sawk, then headed north as the road began to curve that way. Soon enough, he saw the flashing lights from a line of police cars. They had formed a blockade across the road, with only one gap in the middle to allow traffic to flow, and let the cops check each and every car.

He slowed to a walk when he got within twenty feet. His shoes had certainly done the trick- he didn't feel out of breath at all.

Burgh was directing the police, and seeing Hilbert, walked up to him. "Well you got here fast," he commented.

"Blame it the shoes," Hilbert said. "They're special. What's the situation been like here?"

Burgh gave a slight shrug. "Nothing much has happened. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any Team Plasma members trying to get through here, so they've probably scuttled off into the forest itself. I'll show you."

Hilbert followed Burgh as he walked towards two places where the trees parted, each about ten feet wide. They were clearly the entrances to poorly-kept nature trails. "These lead deep into the forest. They're each straight paths, but it's impossible to know which one the Plasma grunts took. In fact, now that I think about it, they may have split up. However, they only took one piece of that skull, so if we each take one path, we should find the grunt who has it."

"Can we be sure that the grunts are the only people in there?" Hilbert asked.

"Well, they are public nature trails, and we haven't evacuated the forest, so no," Burgh said. "You may run into Trainers, too, and a lot of Bug-types. I love Bug-types. My type speciality is Bug-types. Anyway, I'll take the left, you take the right?"

"Sounds good to me," Hilbert said.

They each went their separate ways, Hilbert going down his path. For the first twenty feet or so, he could see Burgh's moving form faintly through the trees, but the paths soon diverged sharply, and the Gym Leader was lost to his sight.

Pinwheel Forest wasn't that hard to navigate. The way through was wide and appeared to have branching paths, but they were nothing more than red herrings, as every single one Hilbert walked down led to fenced off dead ends. The dead ends often were crawling with tall grass, nests for one of the Bug-types that called the forest home, Venipede.

Venipede was an insectoid Bug/Poison-type that resembled a foot-tall centipede. It was mainly magenta on its thorax and head, but its abdomen was green. To Hilbert's distress, he found out that not only were they brutally aggressive, not only did they quad-resist Fighting (thereby making his most powerful physical attacker useless) but they also had the Ability Poison Point, which had a good chance to poison a Pokemon that made physical contact with them while attacking. He just barely won his first encounter with one, and was forced to use an Antidote to heal his poisoned Sawk. From then on, he ran away from them as fast as he could.

The other Pokemon he encountered weren't much better. In fact, he was ill-prepared in general; everything either resisted most of his Pokemon's attacks, or were super-effective against them. Two more particularly annoying examples of this were Sewaddle, a caterpillar-like Bug/Grass-type, and Petilil, a pure Grass-type that looked like a plant bulb. Both of these had types that were normally bad defensively, with Sewaddle's being especially horrible, but given how in combination they resisted most of his Pokemon's attacks, it made him want to tear his hair out. On top of that, two of three Pokemon with neutral attacks on his team could be struck back twice as hard by a super-effective Mega Drain from Petilil or a Razor Leaf from Sewaddle.

He kept going, now of full alert. Off in the distance, he could hear shouting and the cries of Pokemon. _Sounds like Burgh found some of the grunts,_ he thought.

He walked around a curve in the path, and let out a quiet gasp, ducking behind a tree. _Speak of Giratina..._ he thought. There, standing not thirty feet from where he was hiding, was a Plasma grunt. The man was standing with his back to Hilbert, and hadn't noticed him, nor heard him. Even though he had faced Team Plasma before, Hilbert's heart was pounding. Those times, he had backup- Cheren and Bianca- to aid him. This time, he was alone, with no one to rescue him if he got in trouble, and he had no idea what the grunt was capable of. Were he to be defeated, would he resort to physical violence?

Hilbert took the Mystic Water out of his bag and gave it to Maru to hold. There didn't seem to be any way to get past the grunt without a battle, and he wanted to as prepared as possible. Though the Discipline Pokemon was at three-quarters health, that still was better than nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out from behind the tree. "Hey!" he shouted at the grunt, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.

The grunt jumped a bit in surprise, whirling around. His expression contorted into one of shock, then amusement in the span of a second. "Well, talk about bottom-of-the-barrel law enforcement here!" he laughed. "I expected cops, maybe a Gym Leader to come after us, but what do I get? Some stubborn little brat who doesn't know his place!" He walked towards Hilbert, his face darkening with anger as he grabbed the lone Poke Ball off his belt. "When I'm through with you... well, let's just say you'll think twice about chasing us next time. Go, Sandile!"

He threw the Ball out, and it opened to reveal a quadrupedal crocodile-like Pokemon. It was mostly tan, with black stripes where its legs connected to its body, with a pink underbelly. Most notable of all, were its eyes. They resembled binoculars, consisting of beady grey pupils, with a black membrane around them.

Hilbert quickly but awkwardly threw out Maru using his uninjured but nondominant left arm as the grunt yelled, "Sandile, Assurance!" Moving faster than its squat frame would seem to suggest, Sandile ran for Maru.

"Dodge and use Razor Shell!" Hilbert said. Maru quickly jumped out of the way, slashing the Desert Croc Pokemon with its seashells as it went by. Sandile cried out in pain, the Ground-type being flung away and knocked out due to the super-effective attack.

"What!?" The grunt cried in disbelief. "How!? You- you're just a kid!" He recalled Sandile to its Poke Ball.

Hilbert wisely chose to keep Maru out, just in case the grunt tried anything. "Okay, now hand over that piece of the skeleton you stole."

The grunt only laughed. "What, do you think the first guy you encounter would have it? Sorry kid, but we're not that dumb. You want that skeleton piece back? You're just gonna have to keep on going." The grunt then ran down the path in the direction of the road, unknowingly heading straight for an arrest.

"Joke's on you, sucker," Hilbert muttered, recalling Maru and continuing on.

It wasn't long before he came across another grunt. This time, though, she spotted him right away. "Well, well, what do we have here?" she hissed. "A little kid lost in the forest? Or maybe sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong! Go, Purrloin!"

With one use of Double Kick from Sensei, the Dark-type was sent flying into a tree, knocked out. The grunt look scandalized, but told Hilbert she didn't have the piece either. "Do I look like the sort of girl to carry a heavy load?" she said before running off.

Snarling in anger, Hilbert was forced to keep going. The path thinned, the trees closing in around him, the closeness of the canopy blocking out the sun, before opening up in a bit of a clearing with flowers growing in it. Also in the clearing, was a Team Plasma grunt. Unlike the rest, this one had a bag slung over his shoulder, which undoubtedly held the skeleton piece. He saw Hilbert walking into the area, and started.

"How the hell did a kid make it here!?" he cried.

"How do you think?" Hilbert shot back, "By beating all your buddies on the trail. Now hand over that skeleton piece! I'm getting really sick of seeing you grunts."

The grunt reached for one of the Poke Balls on his belt, but then stopped, and smirked. Hilbert cocked his head. "What are you looking so smug abou-" It was then that something large and heavy collided with the back of his head. Spots exploded in front of his eyes, and he dropped to his knees, everything going black.

The first thing Hilbert noticed when he woke up was the throbbing pain in the back of his head. His cap had done nothing to lessen the impact of whatever had smashed into his skull. He blinked, letting out a slight groan. Trying to move his hands to his aching head, he found he couldn't. To his surprise, he found they had been bound behind his back. He then became aware of a dull pain in his still-tender right arm. He had been laying on it for however long he had been unconscious. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, as he could hear the grunt talking with someone.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, he rolled over, seeing who the thug was speaking with. It... was an old man in dark green robes. Hilbert would have rubbed his eyes had he been able to. Instead, he blinked again, making sure he wasn't seeing things. When he opened his eyes again though, the man was still there.

"B-but- Sage Gorm!" the grunt was stammering, "How could this skeleton piece not be related to what we are seeking!? Were you not the one who commanded us to after it in the first place!?"

Hilbert narrowed his eyes. Sage? What was the guy talking about?

Gorm merely grimaced. "Perhaps I was a little, ah, hasty in those orders. Further research into the subject has revealed the skeleton this jawbone came from is not the Legendary Pokemon we are looking for. We can afford to abandon it."

The grunt's face displayed a mix of shock and anger, but he held his tongue, not daring to speak out against his superior. Still, in a reasonably calm voice, he managed to say, "What about the destiny of the king?"

"Again, you need not worry about such matters. They do not concern you." Gorm said. "The king will have his day. For now, we need to deal with more pressing issues, like what to do with this one." He turned his head towards Hilbert, who let out a frightened (not to mention pathetic) squeak as the old man's eyes locked with his. Immediately, Gorm's expression twisted into anger. The grunt quickly followed suit.

The grunt stomped over to where Hilbert lay, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and hauling him to his feet. "Trying to eavesdrop, are we, you little brat?" the man hissed. "What should we do with him, my Sage? He knows too much now, we can't let him live! I say we gut him."

Hilbert was terrified. Shaking with fear, he could only whimper, "Pl-please don't kill me..." Tears of fright were forming in his eyes.

"Calm yourself, now," Gorm said. "There's no need to kill him. But it is true we cannot let him go free after all he has heard, either."

The grunt whipped his head around to look at the sage. "Then what do we do?"

"I think the best solution would be to bring him with us, honestly," Gorm said. "Killing him would do no good for our public image, but if we simply make him disappear, that will arouse far less suspicion. No one will miss him, and the search will most likely be called off relatively quickly. He'll just be remembered as a boy who got lost wandering in the forest, and never came back."

"...Good point," the grunt said finally. He grabbed Hilbert's injured arm, causing the boy to hiss in pain, leading him roughly along. "Okay, kid, you're coming with us."

Hilbert did what anyone would do in that kind of situation: screamed for help at the top of his lungs. _"Burgh! Police! Anyone, help! Bur-_ mhpp!"

The grunt had quickly repositioned himself behind Hilbert, still gripping his arm, and had slapped a hand over his mouth. "Stupid kid!" he yelled. "You make one more attempt to call for help, I snap your neck. No ifs, ands, or buts. Clear?"

Hilbert could only manage a slight nod. Terrified tears were now freely streaming down his cheeks.

The grunt was beginning to drag the boy along again, when suddenly a voice yelled from close by, "Hey! That you, kid!? I don't know what your name is, but hang in there!"

Burgh suddenly burst out of the tree line. He registered what was going on in the space of a second, and the next, he had grabbed a Poke Ball off his belt and thrown it. A preying-mantis-like Pokemon appeared in a flash of light. It was thin, green, and yellow. Its legs were stick-like, and its arms resembled razor-sharp leaves. "Let the boy go, or I'll have Leavanny cut you both down to size," Burgh growled. He looked at Hilbert, tears were still pouring out of the poor boy's eyes.

The grunt scoffed, reaching for a Poke Ball with one hand. Unfortunately for him, it was the hand covering Hilbert's mouth. He turned his hand sideways for a split second, but that was all Hilbert needed to sink his teeth into the man's gloved palm. He shrieked, releasing the boy, who ran for Burgh faster than he ever had.

"Well, looks like you guys just lost your hostage," Burgh said as Hilbert safely reached his side. "Who's in control now? Who are you anyway, old man?"

Seeing as he had no choice, Gorm opened his mouth to explain. "If you must know, I am Gorm, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Ghetsis, another of the Seven Sages, will liberate Pokemon with words alone. However, the remainder of us have ordered their compatriots to take Pokemon using full force! But even this is perhaps saying too much. To you, Gym Leader Burgh, I say this: Know your enemies, know yourself, and you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. Any further interference from you will not be tolerated."

With that, the old man pulled a Poke Ball from out of his robes, and clicked the button on its front twice. In a flash, a Braviary appeared. "Levanny, Sticky Web, now!" Burgh yelled.

Levanny spat a stream of what looked like spider silk out of its mouth, but the grunt jumped in front of the attack, protecting the Sage, who had begun to fly away on his Braviary. The grunt tried to free himself from the web, but gave up after a few seconds, realizing it was futile.

"Ah, nuts!" Burgh exclaimed. "Got the small fry, but missed the big catch!" He turned to Hilbert. "You okay, kid? Here, let's get your hands free..."

As Burgh began untying the tight knots binding Hilbert's wrists together, the boy spoke up. "My name is Hilbert, by the way," he said in a somewhat shaky voice.

Burgh managed to get the ropes off after about a minute of fussing around with them, and Hilbert began rubbing his wrists, trying to get the circulation back. "Well, Hilbert, why don't you say we get out of this forest?" the Gym Leader said. "I think today's been a bit too exciting, for both of us."

Burgh retrieved the protesting grunt, and they began walking down the path. Hilbert tuned out the grunt's empty threats, not able to shake the feeling that he'd be dealing with a new set of nightmares from this incident. However, the waking one had barely even gotten started.

* * *

 **A/N: Scratch one more chapter. Next time, Castelia City! ...Which I don't have a design for. Google Steetview of New York, don't fail me now! If anyone needs me, by the way, I'll be in my anti-Twilight Princess bunker about five kilometres underneath my house for the next year or six. Something tells me I'm gonna be watching nothing but Alex Ogloza and Aaron 'Cybertron' Zheng on YouTube for a long time to come...**


	14. Chapter 12: Life in the Big City

**A/N: To the Guest reviewer: Thanks for the info (even if this reply is like two months late, but it's against my policy to review my own story to reply to reviews, unlike a lot of other users I could name). What he's talking about, for those who are unaware, is that around the time his review was posted, a lot of users on this site were receiving spam PM's from sockpuppet accounts set up by a website called Inkitt. They urged everyone who got one (myself included) to join a bogus fanfiction contest on their site. Using PM's in this way is in direct violation of FFN's Terms of Service, and spamming like this is illegal in many countries under different acts (here in North America, it's covered under the Can-Spam Act of 2003), but Inkitt is either too stupid or too oblivious to care about potential lawsuits. By the way, there's a link to an** ** _AWESOME_** **cover of the Castlelia City theme on my profile, done by the same guy who did the Nacrene City cover, so go give it a listen while reading.**

* * *

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 12: Life In The Big City

The Skyarrow Bridge, Hilbert could safely say, was the most magnificent structure he had ever seen in his fourteen years of life. Even with his special shoes, sprinting full-tilt the entire way, it took almost fifteen minutes to cross. As he crossed into the metropolis known as Castelia City, he reflected on how he got here.

The aftermath of Team Plasma's heist was... eventful, to say the least. The media had swarmed him and Burgh as soon as they emerged from the forest trail, but Hilbert had denied requests for a comment, preferring not to talk about his somewhat traumatizing experience. The grunts he had defeated were all arrested, but interrogating them proved to be pointless, as they refused to tell the police anything. "Damn bastards are like a cult," one of the policemen had growled.

Bianca, for her part, had won her Basic Badge. Her Tepig had evolved into the Fire/Fighting-type Pignite. Thanks to Pignite's Arm Thrust attack, she had easily won. Cheren had caught a Pidove and a Panpour in Pinwheel Forest, Bianca catching a Pansage. Shortly after that, they decided to move on. Getting to Castelia from Nacrene took a day-and-a-half on foot. Luckily, the closer they got to Castelia, the more urban the landscape became, so it was easy to find a bed-and-breakfast. Pinwheel Forest was actually huge- it spanned dozens of kilometres to the north, with suburbs being built near the deforested upper tips.

There were two entrances to the Skyarrow Bridge- one for cars, and one for pedestrians on foot. The bridge was built to accommodate both. Cars and trucks went through a checkpoint before being allowed onto the structure, while people on foot had to go through an indoor security check not unlike an airport. A person's bag had to be checked, their Poke Balls (if they had any) needed to be scanned, and Trainer Cards were slid through a scanner to authenticate I.D. Hundreds of people came and went every day, so it was always a zoo.

Beyond the checkpoints, was the Skyarrow Bridge. The massive structure was separated in two by concrete barricades, so cars travelled on the right side, and regular civilians were on the left. It had a grand total of four supporting towers holding it up over the widest part of the river, and the impressive Castelia City skyline loomed in the distance, making many first-time visitors gasp in awe. Hilbert broke out of his recollections here, joining those stunned by the sheer _size_ of Castelia.

The city absolutely dwarfed both Nacrene and Striaton, both in terms of square kilometres, and size of buildings. Even the largest, eight-story apartment buildings in Striaton were no match for the high-rises he saw when he first entered the city. However, when he started to explore a bit, he found that not all the buildings were like this. The city planners must have merely built the Skyarrow Bridge to deposit people where the tallest buildings were, likely to wow tourists. Castelia City, when one got right down to it, was simply a huge seaside circle, with many buildings constructed within the limit of the circle. To the north of the city was a series of suburbs, which eventually petered off into a desert.

Thankfully, the Pokemon Center was just a stone's throw from the Skyarrow Bridge, so Hilbert checked out a room there. He had left Cheren and Bianca in his dust in his mad dash to get across the bridge. The interior of the Castelia Pokemon Center, to accommodate for the city's size, was huge. It had not one, but three healing machines, and each always had lines in front of them. The Pokemon Center was actually the ground floor of a skyscraper, with all the rooms Trainers stayed in being on the upper floors. The place to buy items, too, was not just a counter with shelves behind it, it was a walk-in store, the only one of its kind in Unova.

Hilbert tried to make an appointment to have the stitches in his arm removed, but after the staff learned when he got them, they told him to wait, as it was too early to have them taken out. All he could do was replace the bandages until it was time, and he was doing so. He then went to the store, selling his Antidote and Awakenings, and bought a Great Ball. Finally ready, he set out into the city. He walked among thousands of others, just going about their daily routines. It wasn't long before he came across a building with a sign that said 'Battle Company' above the door. A poster in the window advertised daily tournaments, and that all Trainers were welcome. "This might be worth a look," Hilbert said to himself, opening the door and walking inside.

The interior was a simple lobby with a reception desk. The clerk looked up as she heard the door open. "Oh, hi!" she said. "Welcome to the Battle Company! Are you here to participate in a tournament, or just having a look around?"

"A bit of both, actually," Hilbert replied. "What does this place do, exactly?"

"It's very simple, really," the receptionist explained. "We hold Pokemon battle tournaments, which are open to anyone, keep them on film, and analyze them. This place is a sort of preliminary test to see the viability of a Battle Frontier facility in Unova, set up by Brendan Ruby himself! Luckily for you, a tournament is starting in ten minutes. Would you like to join?"

"Well, why not?" Hilbert smiled. "Can't pass up some free experience for my Pokemon, can I?"

The receptionist handed him a forum to sign, which included the usual rhetoric of 'the Battle Company is not responsible for any lost or damaged items, personal injury,' and etc. The rules on the forum were simple: Hilbert would face a series of opponents in an elimination-style tournament. The top four Trainers qualified for a prize. He signed the sheet of paper, handing it back to the woman.

"Hilbert Touya, is it?" she said. "Well, you're all set. Just go through those doors over there," she pointed to a set of doors past her desk, on the right, "and wait to be called."

Hilbert nodded, walking through the doors. He entered into a small, rectangular room with a bench to sit on, a self-serve Pokemon healing machine in the corner, and another pair of doors at the far end. He ignored the healing machine, as all his Pokemon were good to go anyways, and sat down on the bench. Ten minutes wasn't an agonizingly long time to wait, but it was still boring with nothing to do. However, he was called over the PA system before he got too antsy.

He went through the doors, and came out into a large room. It was set up similar to a hockey rink, with a central area, and a bench protected by plexiglass. His opponents were already sitting on the bench.

The PA system sounded. "The first round can now commence. Hilbert and Ingrid, enter the battlefield please."

Hilbert and a woman in a pink skirt and white shirt stepped out onto the arena. Noticing the four Poke Balls on Hilbert's waist compared to her one, her expression turned somewhat nervous. They walked to either side of the field. Forgoing any formalities, Ingrid grabbed her lone Poke Ball, shouting, "All right Herdier, let's give it our best! Get out there!" She threw out the Ball, and the Loyal Dog Pokemon appeared in a flash of light.

"Alright, Sensei, you know what to do! Go!" Hilbert threw out his Sawk.

Ingrid wasted no time, despite the fact that she was at a type disadvantage. "Take Down, Herdier!" Herdier raced for Sensei, getting ready to ram him.

"Wait til it gets close, then use Rock Smash!" Hilbert said. Sensei tensed, waiting. The Herdier jumped, trying to slam into the Sawk, but that was when the Karate Pokemon struck. His arm whipped out, punching the Herdier in the face. The Loyal Dog Pokemon was sent flying away from the super-effective attack, but due to the low base power of Rock Smash, it was able to get back up, albeit only just.

"Herdier!" Ingrid cried. "Come on, use Bite!"

Hilbert wasn't about to give her the opportunity to attack, though. "Keep up the pressure, Sensei! Double Kick!"

Sensei ran towards the Herdier, and once again sent it flying with a single kick. This time, the Loyal Dog Pokemon did not get up. Hilbert had handily won the first round. Both Trainers recalled their Pokemon, shook hands, then returned to their seats to watch the next match. The next two Trainers used a Roggenrola and a Timburr, respectively. Even though the man with the Roggenrola knew he was at a type disadvantage, he fought cleverly, using Roggenrola's Rock Blast attack to block Timburr's Rock Throw, knowing it would break Roggenrola's Ability, Sturdy, which allowed it to survive any hit with one point of health remaining, so long as it was at full health.

Eventually, the man with the Timburr grew restless, commanding the Muscular Pokemon to use Low Kick. Timburr ran towards Roggenrola, managing to get in the hit. The super-effective hit knocked the Roggenrola down to one point of health, Sturdy allowing it to hang on. The Roggenrola's Trainer had the Mantle Pokemon counter with Headbutt, but the match was well in hand by this point. All it took was one more Low Kick to knock the Roggenrola out.

The PA system announced the winner, and Hilbert then faced off against the man with the Timburr. He managed to get fairly far in the tournament, but was finally defeated by Wade, a man who used all three elemental monkeys, Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear. Still, he did place third overall, more than enough for a prize: the Experience Share, an immensely useful item for Pokemon. The Pokemon holding this item would receive 25% of all experience gained from battles, even if it did not participate in them. This made it a highly sought-after item among new and veteran Trainers alike.

Hilbert walked back to the Pokemon Center, satisfied with the results of the tournament. All his Pokemon were now at least level 22, and as such, two had learned new moves. Maru had learned the Bug-type Fury Cutter, a move that grew in power as it was used successively. He would miss the higher critical hit chance that Focus Energy gave him, but reasoned greater type coverage was more valuable. Scrapper had learned Hone Claws, a stat-raising move that raised attack and accuracy by one stage each. It was far better than the weak Fury Swipes, as any way Drilbur could raise its attack was welcome.

As for his other two Pokemon, Sensei had tried to learn a new move, Counter, but Hilbert didn't find it very practical, and denied him from learning it. Logan had not learned any new moves at all. By now, it was nearing 12:00 o'clock, and his stomach began to growl. He reasoned against going to a restaurant, as he could just as easily get something to eat at the Pokemon Center anyways. He bought a sandwich from the store in the Center, and sat down at an empty table at the lounge, which was another room in itself.

Various people meandered about here, talking to each other, communicating with family members on their Cross-Transceivers, or eating. Two very familiar faces were also in the room, and came over to his table.

"Well, well, where the hell have you been?" Cheren said, taking a seat opposite Hilbert's end of the table, Bianca sitting next to him. "Nice of you to just leave us in the dust on the bridge, by the way. _Thanks."_ These last words were said dripping with sarcasm.

"Nice to see you, too, Cheren," Hilbert muttered. "As for why I left you guys, excuse me if I couldn't contain my excitement to get to the biggest city I've ever been in."

Bianca placed her hand on Hilbert's arm. "Don't mind him, Hilbert. We were just worried. Like, what if something had happened to you? We wouldn't know, and we'd have to tell your mom that you'd been kidnapped or killed, so that's why Cheren's acting kind of angry. Right?"

"Yeah," Cheren said, but was actually thinking, _Of course not._

Hilbert took a bite of his sandwich. It wasn't nearly as good as Striaton City's food, but it did nonetheless. "So," he said with his mouth full, "What were you guys up to? I was in a tournament at a place called the Battle Company just down the way from here. Won myself an Experience Share."

Both his friends' eyes widened, Cheren's considerably more than Bianca's. "Do you have any idea how useful those are!?" Cheren exclaimed.

"'Course I do," Hilbert retorted. "They explained it to me. Unfortunately, the tournament I was in was the last one of the day, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to have a shot at getting one."

"I wanted to challenge Burgh tomorrow, though..." Cheren said. Hilbert smirked at Cheren's expression, he could almost see the smoke leaking out of his sort-of-friend's ears as he tried to make up his mind on what he wanted more. A lull in the conversation followed, broken only by Hilbert's chewing as he took another bite of his lunch.

Bianca spoke up. "So... uh, while you were off at a tournament, we were checking out the city. I'll show you the map we picked up."

She pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of her bag, and placed it on the table. She unfolded it to its full size. The map revealed things that Hilbert hadn't seen, or didn't know about Castelia, like the presence of a huge circular area in the centre of the city. Along the outer edge of the city's main circle, were five large piers. "Did you go to that place?" Hilbert asked, pointing at the central area.

"Oh, no we didn't," Bianca answered. "It's called 'Castelia Plaza' according to some locals we talked to."

"Where we did go," Cheren interjected, "Was these piers. Absolutely fantastic ocean views from all of them. We checked out a couple shops, and there's this huge mall you need to see. They've got everything there. Well, aside from things Poke Marts sell, obviously."

"Well, I'm sold," Hilbert said. "Mind giving me the tour?"

"As long as you don't run off on us," Cheren said, to which Hilbert only gave an apologetic laugh.

The rest of the day was spent simply sightseeing, wandering in no particular direction and looking at lots of things Castelia had to offer. It was well past 10:00 when they returned to the Pokemon Center to sleep. However, Hilbert found little actual rest, as he was assaulted by a nightmare. It was obviously brought on by what he went through in Pinwheel Forest, given how it took place there. In real life, he complied with the Plasma grunt dragging him away after the man had threatened to kill him. In the dream though, he actually resisted, struggling against his grip. The grunt had then made good on his threat, putting Hilbert in a choke hold, strangling him. The poor boy could feel everything, even if it was a dream- his lungs crying out for oxygen, and his vision slowly going dark.

Hilbert awoke gasping for air. He quickly realized where he was, sitting up. "Just a dream, it wasn't real," he muttered, trying to reassure himself. Looking over at the digital clock beside the bed, he saw that it was only 5:30 in the morning. He fell back, his head hitting the pillow. Deciding it would be better to try and get some more sleep, he closed his eyes, praying for a dreamless rest of the night.

The next morning during breakfast, Hilbert met up with Cheren and Bianca to discuss their plans for the day. Bianca wanted to go see what the Battle Company was all about, but Cheren had made up his mind to go to the Gym and get his next Badge. "But doesn't your starter have a serious type disadvantage against Burgh?" Hilbert asked.

Cheren simply pulled his Pidove's Poke Ball off his belt. "Um, hello? Pidove in this. It's a Flying-type. Seriously, how'd you forget that I caught this so soon?"

Hilbert only shrugged, saying nothing.

"Hilbert?" Bianca spoke up. "Since I don't think you're doing anything today, can you watch me in the tournament? I just want to have a friend nearby."

"It they allow that, sure," Hilbert replied.

They went their separate ways, Cheren heading northwest to the Gym, Hilbert and Bianca going west to the Battle Company. The receptionist at the desk told him that spectators were allowed, although they rarely got them. As such, Hilbert was alone in the stands, watching Bianca's battles with interest and anyone else's with boredom. Just like himself, Bianca was eventually defeated by Wade and his trio of elemental monkeys.

"Damn, that guy's a monster," Hilbert said to himself. Bianca placed fourth, only winning four Sitrus Berries. These Berries restored one-fourth of a Pokemon's health whenever it dropped below half.

"So... what are you gonna do now?" Hilbert asked as they walked out of the Battle Company.

Bianca kept her head down, looking at her feet. She was clearly disappointed at not winning the Experience Share, but replied nonetheless. "I'm gonna go for a walk, maybe. This city's huge, so there's bound to be some things we didn't see yesterday, right?" She looked up at him, forcing a smile. "What will _you_ do now?"

"I'll go check up on Cheren, see if he's done or not. Somehow, I don't think he won with the team he has. And Bianca?" Hilbert gave her a serious look. "You did great. So you didn't win the Experience Share, so what? I lost to the same guy you did. Don't feel bad."

"Thanks, Hilbert," Bianca said. "See you around?"

"Yeah."

They parted ways, Bianca disappearing into the crowded Castelia streets. Hilbert turned left, walking in the general direction of the Gym. It took nearly an hour of walking past buildings, some tall, some not, crossing streets, and looking at maps, but finally, he arrived directly across from his destination. He crossed the street just as Cheren walked out of the tall green building... covered in a sticky yellow substance.

"I didn't know wearing honey was the new black," Hilbert chuckled as he walked up to Cheren.

The black-haired boy to face him, a sour look on his face. "Shut. Up." he said as he wiped honey off his jacket with his hands and flicked them downwards. Hilbert only laughed harder. "Oh, sure, laugh it up now, but you won't be when it's your turn in that madhouse." Cheren spat.

Hilbert's laughter slowly died down, and he asked, "So how'd it go? Win the Badge?"

A smirk grew on Cheren's face. "Bet your ass. Burgh sure as hell made me work for it, though. I really owe the victory to my Pidove. It really carried the fight. I think I'm gonna call it Interceptor."

Hilbert snorted. "First Interloper for your Purrloin, and now Interceptor? You've got a bit of a nicknaming theme goin' on there."

"I guess I do, huh?" Cheren said. "Either way, I do have one Badge on you now, don't I? Gotta keep up, Hilbert. Before you know it, I'll have beaten all the Gym Leaders in the region. After that, there's only the Pokemon League, and then sky's the limit!"

A slightly crazed look had entered Cheren's eyes. This, combined with the fact that he was covered in honey, truly made him look insane. Wanting to steer the conversation away from Cheren's delusions of grandeur, Hilbert asked, "So... got any tips for taking down Burgh?"

"Well, I hear there are some Fire-types on Route 4," Cheren said. "Of course, I didn't need them, but they'll certainly be helpful. Regardless, I need to get to the Pokemon Center and wash all this honey off. I'll see ya later."

Cheren turned and walked away, but due to people giving him a wide berth to avoid getting honey on their clothes, he didn't exactly vanish into the crowds. Hilbert chuckled again, and was about to go into the Gym when someone else came running out of it.

Hilbert did a double take. It was Burgh. Surprisingly enough, he was not covered in honey.

"Burgh? What's going on? Why are you out of the Gym?" he asked.

"No time," Burgh panted. "We got a situation. Team Plasma's appeared again. We have to get to Prime Pier."

"But that's on the other side of the city!" Hilbert cried. "We'll never get there in a reasonable amount of time on foot. It took me an hour just to get here!"

"Who says we're walking?" Burgh said. "We'll just take my car." He gestured to a light green vehicle across the street. They got in, and Burgh pulled out of his parking spot, flooring it. At the speed they going, it took only thirty minutes (not counting stoplights) to get to Prime Pier. Exiting the car, Hilbert saw a familiar head of blond hair covered by a green hat. It was Bianca. She was sitting on a bench that faced the ocean, her head in her hands. Next to her was another girl who couldn't have been more than ten. She had black skin, and was wearing a cream-coloured shirt with exaggeratedly long sleeves, and pink bands around the ends. She had a pink hoodie tied around her waist.

As he got closer, Hilbert could hear Bianca sobbing loudly. "Oh, no," he muttered. He stopped in front of her. "Bianca? Is everything alright?"

The younger girl whipped her head up at him. "No, of course it's not! Team Plasma took her Pokemon!"

" _Shit,"_ Hilbert cursed under his breath. "What Pokemon was it, Bianca?"

Bianca lifted her head out of her hands. She looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her expression was distraught, and tears still ran down her cheeks. "I-it w-was my-my Munna! Th-they stole Musha!" Bianca buried her face in her hands again, sobbing in a way that reminded Hilbert all too painfully of the little girl on Route 3.

"It's okay, Bianca," Burgh said. "We'll find Team Plasma and get your Munna back. Somehow. I don't think Hilbert knows the whole story, though. I just kinda pulled him into this. Why don't you give him the skinny? Start from the beginning."

Bianca sniffled. "O-okay. I'll do my best."

 _An hour and a half earlier..._

Bianca's feet made tapping sounds as she walked along, just one pair of footfalls in the cacophony of noise that Castelia made twenty-four-seven. Truth be told, she was actually upset that she hadn't won the Experience Share at the Battle Company. It essentially made the whole morning a waste of time. She sighed. _It doesn't make sense,_ she thought. _Why are Hilbert and Cheren so much better than me? I've done everything they've done: I've caught and raised Pokemon, I've even beaten Lenora, a Gym Leader that took Hilbert three tries to beat, on my first try. What am I doing wrong?_

Bianca clenched her hands into shaky fists. Her breathing was getting heavier as anger started to overtake her. She felt a sudden and very strong urge to scream, to lash out, just do _something_ , to act on her abrupt rage. Instead, she began to run. She didn't care where she went, or how exhausted she would be afterwards, she just kept going. Buildings went by in rushes of motion, every crosswalk was infuriating, as it forced her to stop. She may have been angry, but she wasn't willing to risk her life to vent through physical activity.

Eventually, the dull pain in her chest and legs became too much to bear. Lungs heaving, she stopped, promptly realizing she had no idea where she was. Worse yet, she seemed to have stumbled into a rougher part of the city; the buildings looked shoddier and overall more dirty, and the people she could see looked less-than-friendly. With her brightly-coloured outfit, she stuck out like a sore thumb against the dark red bricks the buildings were made out of.

"...Oh, no," she whispered. Her thoughts whirled at a hurricane pace. _It's okay, Bianca. You'll find a way out of this,_ she thought. _Think positively. Maybe you can use this as a learning experience, like 'don't run in random directions in big cities'._ She turned around, only to see something that made her blood run cold. Three Team Plasma grunts were walking down the street towards her, in an almost patrolling fashion. One of them spotted her, alerting the others, and they began to run at her.

However, she stood her ground, grabbing one of the Poke Balls off her belt. "Go, Musha!" she yelled, throwing out her Munna.

The grunts stopped about fifteen feet from her, taking their Poke Balls off their belts as well. "W-what do you want!?" Bianca yelled. "Just leave me alone!"

"Oh, we will, girly," one of the grunts shot back. "Once we take your Pokemon, that is! Seriously, what are you trying to fight us with? A piggy bank with flowers on it?" He nodded to his cohorts. "Take her Pokemon."

All three grunts sent out Sandile, ordering them to use Bite. Munna, bulky as it was, was still no match for three super-effective moves in a row. It went down with a cry. "Musha!" Bianca cried, fumbling with its Poke Ball. The Sandile, though, had other ideas. Under the grunts' orders, they surrounded her, snapping their jaws threateningly.

"Now, either you hand over that Poke Ball, or you just might lose a hand," one of the grunts hissed. "What's it gonna be?"

Horrified, and left with no choice, a tearful Bianca extended her arm, placing Munna's Poke Ball in the grunt's outstretched hand.

"A-and that's what happened..." Bianca said as she finished her story. "After that, I met Iris, and she tried to help me look for them, but this city's so big... we lost them." She began to sob again. "Wh-what am I going to do if I can't get Musha back!?" she cried. "Shows how great I am as a Trainer, doesn't it? Handing my Pokemon over to thugs... I'm such a coward."

"Oooh, I hate those Team Plasma guys!" The black girl- Iris- said. "If I found them, I'd have my Haxorus disembowel them! And eat them!" She crossed her arms cantankerously. "Maybe not in that order."

A disturbed look came over Hilbert's face at hearing that statement coming from someone so young.

Burgh placed his hand on Bianca's shoulder. "You're not a coward, Bianca. You had no other choice. I would've done the same thing. In fact, standing up to them like you did was very brave. However, that doesn't solve the main problem: Finding your Munna. Have you contacted the police? They might be able to cover more ground than we can."

"N-no, I haven't," Bianca said. "Besides, you saw how much they 'helped' in Nacrene. All they did was set up a few blockades, not actually go after Team Plasma. That's why I thought it would be better to have Iris get in touch with you, since Gym Leaders have each other on speed-dial."

"Wait, wait, wait," Hilbert said, pointing at Iris. "She's a Gym Leader?"

"Yup!" Iris replied. "I'm the Gym Leader of Opelucid City! Maybe you'll get there one day, maybe not, but that's not important right now. What is is searching the city for Team Plasma."

"She's right." Burgh piped up. "I'll contact the police, tell them to do a sweep of the city, but not to engage Team Plasma if they find them. They're seriously inept at battling Pokemon. Hilbert, you do what you can on foot. Iris, stay with Bianca. Be her... bodyguard, I guess."

Within ten minutes, everything was ready. A squad of police had been called in, given orders by Burgh, and set out in cars. To make him more useful, Hilbert had been made an unofficial member of the Castelia City Police Department. He had been given a police badge, and the right to search any building and question any person he so chose, though this would all be revoked once Bianca's Munna was found. (He _was_ going to be a bit sad about losing the badge, though. It did look cool).

Currently, he was patrolling on foot, questioning passerby about suspicious activity, and flashing the badge to anyone who gave him a smart-ass comment about his age. That shut them up in a hurry. After some time of doing this and making no progress, he decided to try some buildings. Two hours and five buildings later, he was getting frustrated. He picked another building on a street lined with trees at random, only to find it was a small art gallery. Cursing, he checked it regardless. Team Plasma could be literally anywhere in the city.

The current theme in the gallery was 'Myths and Legends of the Unova Region', featuring various paintings of the 'Forces of Nature', Unova's Legendary Trio. Other regions had trios of Legendary Pokemon, as well: Kanto's Winged Mirages, Johto's Legendary Beasts, Hoenn's Continental Golems, and Sinnoh's Lake Guardians.

One painting in particular, located near the centre of the gallery, caught his eye. It was titled 'Black Lightning,' and featured a stormy sky background, forks of lightning bursting down from the clouds. Oddly, the lightning was blue, contrary to the title, and silhouetted the picture's primary focus: a bulky black shape, almost Pokemon-like in appearance. It had a glowing blue tail, and red eyes. Hilbert peered closer at the picture, trying to get a better look at the shape, but gave up, and shrugged. His Cross-Transceiver started to ring. He pressed a button to accept the call.

"Hilbert," Burgh said as his face showed up on the camera, "Find anything?"

"Well, I've found a couple pretty pictures, but other than that, dick-all," Hilbert replied.

"Dammit!" Burgh swore. "Well, neither has anyone else. At this rate, we'll have to call off the search. I can't be away from the Gym for much longer, and the police only have so much time."

Hilbert sighed. "Is there anything else we can do? I've searched like five buildings, but I could go through more."

Burgh was about to answer, but a ring on his own Cross-Transceiver interrupted him. He pressed a button, and a police officer's face appeared on both Hilbert's and Burgh's screens. "Burgh, sir, we think we've found something. We're seeing suspicious activity near one building. People in cloaks are going into it."

"Where are you now, and where's the building?" Burgh asked.

"We're a few blocks away, but the building is right across from the Gym," the cop said.

Hilbert rubbed his left temple with his free hand. "Son of a _bitch!_ They were right under our damn noses this whole time."

"How close are you both?" the cop asked.

"Not close enough," Hilbert said. "Even with my shoes, it'll take me a while to get there, and we can't afford to lose them. Think someone can pick me up? I'm at some sort of art gallery."

"Ah, sounds like you're at Studio Castelia," Burgh said. The nostalgia was clear in his voice. "I remember when I used to submit pieces of my own there before I became a Gym Leader. People would come from all over to see them... ah, but I'm rambling now. Send a squad car over there, officer, pronto! We've got a Pokemon to rescue!"

"Ooh-rah to that," Hilbert said. He terminated the call, and waited on the sidewalk. Soon enough, a police car drove up, taking him to the street that housed the Gym.

When he got out, he could see three figures wearing beige cloaks that covered their whole bodies standing outside the door of the building. Burgh was already there, shouting at them, but getting no reply from any of them.

"Hilbert! You made it!" Burgh called as Hilbert jogged up to him. "This is definitely the place. Unfortunately, these goons aren't responding much to verbal persuasion, so we'll have to get...physical!" With that last word, Burgh moved in a blur. He grabbed one of the figure's cloaks, ripping it off them. Sure enough, underneath was a Team Plasma grunt, wearing the standard-issue uniform of the organization.

"So, you figured us out, didn't you?" the man growled. The other two figures shed their cloaks, revealing themselves to be Team Plasma grunts as well. They all took Poke Balls off their belts, Hilbert and Burgh doing likewise.

Several civilians had gathered around to see what the commotion was about, but Burgh made them back off, shouting, "Everyone, stay back! This is gonna get dangerous!"

"You two, take care of the Gym Leader," the grunt said to his allies. "I'll handle the kid."

Hilbert grit his teeth. _I won't let what happened in Pinwheel Forest happen again. Not here!_ He grabbed his starter's Poke Ball of his belt, and threw it. "Go, Maru!"

The other grunts attacking Burgh had sent out a Watchog and a Sandile, respectively. The grunt Hilbert was facing had also sent out a Sandile.

"Sandile, Assurance!" the grunt called.

"Use Razor Shell!" Hilbert yelled.

Both Pokemon dashed towards each other, but due to Maru's higher level, and thus, higher speed, was able to strike first. The super-effective, Mystic Water-boosted Razor Shell struck hard, knocking the Sandile out. Not willing to give up, the grunt sent out another Sandile, however, he was met with the exact same result.

Meanwhile, Burgh was fighting the other grunts' Pokemon. He had managed to knock out the Sandile with a Razor Leaf from his Leavanny, and had it tie up the Watchog with String Shot. Currently, the Nurturing Pokemon was being anything but as it savagely used Cut over and over, eventually knocking the Watchog out with its repeated strikes.

"Damn... this is bad," one of the grunts muttered as they regrouped.

"Should we bolt?" another asked.

"Of course we should!" the third yelled.

They started to make a break for it, but Burgh had other ideas. "Leavanny, String Shot!" Leavanny spat a sort of silk out of its mouth, entangling the three grunts' ankles. They fell to the ground with surprised shouts. Levanny dragged them backwards by their ankles, further tying them in the silk once they were close enough.

"Alright, now that these three are nice and incapacitated, I think it's time we got your friend's Pokemon back, isn't it?" Burgh said. Hilbert nodded. Burgh called Iris over his Cross-Transceiver, and soon, another police car pulled up, and Bianca and Iris stepped out.

"You both ready?" Hilbert asked.

"You better believe it!" Iris cried enthusiastically. She pulled a Poke Ball out of her pocket. "Haxorus, come on out!" She clicked the Poke Ball's button twice, and in a flash of light, a powerful-looking Dragon-type appeared. It was mostly covered in yellow-green plate-like skin, though there were black patches on its thighs and torso. Its legs and fairly small arms ended in sharp looking claws, but most striking of all was its head. Two huge red tusks, which each resembled axe blades, adorned its upper jaw on either side of its face.

"Haxorus, get us into that building! Dual Chop!" Iris yelled. The Axe Jaw Pokemon bashed the doors with its claws twice, battering them off their hinges. Everyone then ran into the building, Maru and the Haxorus right behind them. Inside, they found exactly what organization they expected to find, but not the people they expected.

"My word, if it isn't the Gym Leader of this city, Burgh!" Ghetsis said, seemingly not caring about the abrupt entrance of the intruders. Standing beside him in the lobby-like room was an old man in tan robes, and another face Hilbert recognized immediately. Several grunts were standing behind the sages, as well.

" _Gorm_ ," he growled, gritting his teeth. The old man gave him a contemptuous look back. The sage had changed his attire for blue robes.

"So, we meet again, boy," he said. "I never thought it would be so soon, however."

"Calm yourself, Gorm," Ghetsis said. "They're obviously here for a reason, so let's hear them out, shall we?"

"You bet we're here for a reason!" Burgh shouted. "You lot stole this girl's Pokemon- a Munna, to be exact. Is that the guiding principle of Team Plasma? 'Take what you want from people!?'"

"You know, the pot really shouldn't call the kettle black," Ghetsis replied. "Because what, pray tell, is the guiding philosophy of Gym Leaders? 'Destroy other people's property?' 'Force their way into places they don't own?'"

That shut Burgh up, so the man in the tan robes turned to Ghetsis. "You must forgive me, Ghetsis!" he pleaded. "I thought it would be best to prepare this as our hideout in this city- epicentre of human evil as it is. It would have been a perfect place to begin the spread of the glorious ideal of Team Plasma. It appears that we have been detected far more quickly than I imagined we would be."

"No matter, Bronius," Ghetsis said. Whispering so low that the others would not be able to hear, he whispered, "We already have an exceptional base of operations, or have you forgotten?"

"What are you whispering about!?" Iris shouted. "Just give us back the Pokemon and leave this city, or I'll have Haxorus throw you out!" Behind her, the Dragon-type snorted, stomping its foot.

Inside his robes, Ghetsis's fingers on his burned hand twitched. How he would like nothing more than to unleash his Hydreigon and put this insolent child in her place... However, he managed to keep his cool, and smirked. "Oh, we will. But first, has anyone familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?"

"Yeah, I am, but what's that got to do with anything!?" Iris demanded.

Ignoring her, Ghetsis began. "The truth is that long, long ago, this region was in chaos. Civil war raged, and many died. However, a white dragon appeared before a hero who sought to bring peace to the warring people. This white Dragon-type Pokemon shared its knowledge with those who stood by its side- as for those foolish enough to oppose and even rebel, some say the Pokemon unleashed flames upon them with such wrath that they were turned to ashen statues. Together, the power of this Pokemon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of the people, and that is how the Unova region was born.

"What Team Plasma desires is to bring back that Pokemon and the hero once again! If we can win people's hearts and minds like the hero of the past did, we can easily create the world that we desire."

Ghetsis's last word hung heavy in the air, but the tension was broken as Burgh burst out laughing.

"Bahahahah! Ghetsis, have you looked outside lately? Tell me, is there a war going on right now? Do people need to be 'won over'? Of course they don't!" He began to pace back and forth. "Still, there's one thing about what you're saying that I don't quite understand."

"And what would that be?" Ghetsis asked apprehensively.

"It's that the reason people get along is that they all have one thing in common: their love of Pokemon," Burgh said. "Just look at Castelia! Despite what old man nutcase on your left says, I don't see it as the 'epicentre of human evil', I see it as... well, as a big melting pot. You've got people from all walks of life here, and they each add their own individual flavour.

"Hell, even people from separate parts of the world can talk Pokemon- assuming, of course, they speak the same language. And even if they can't, it's not a big deal! They can still trade Pokemon, therefore sharing a bit of their culture with the other. And y'know, I was listening in on a few of the speeches you made here in this city, and as much as I hate to say to say it, thank you."

Throughout Burgh's speech, Ghetsis's expression became more and more uneasy, but with that, he looked genuinely surprised.

"Well, go on," he said. "Elaborate. Why _are_ you thanking me?"

"Because you made me rethink and reevaluate the relationship with my Pokemon," Burgh said. "Just the thought of releasing them into the wild, never seeing them again... well, it stirred something in me. So, I dedicate myself to my Pokemon even more strongly! I've even come up with a new training plan for them. Don't you see? What you're doing is only going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokemon, not the other way around!"

Ghetsis laughed a bit, but there was no humour in it, nor did it sound good-natured. It sounded almost evil. "Well, you are quite the clever one, Burgh," he said. Even his voice had taken on a bit of a growl. "A little more... intelligent than I expected, based on your looks."

Burgh snorted. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Fortunately for you," Ghetsis continued, "I am fond of intelligence. I value it in a person. There are far too many... incompetents in this day and age, so you'll enjoy hearing about this. From every corner of the world, I have gathered knowledgeable people for our king's benefit. You can call them- myself included- the Seven Sages."

He turned around and motioned to a Plasma grunt behind him. "Return the girl's Munna," he ordered.

The grunt stalked toward Bianca, thrusting a Poke Ball into her hands, then marched back to his superiors. "Oh, Musha!" Bianca cried. "I was so worried! Thank you, Ghetsis!"

"Bianca!" Iris scolded her, "Why are you thanking them? They took it in the first place!"

"It's just... I'm so happy to have Musha back." Bianca said.

"Well, now, all seems to in order, so we will be taking our leave," Ghetsis said.

The group of Team Plasma members started to move, but halted as Burgh yelled, "Hold up!"

"What is it?" Ghetsis said irritably.

"About those Seven Sages, we encountered that guy in the blue in Pinwheel Forest. We're gonna have to arrest him for attempted abduction of a minor," Burgh said. "Hilbert, tell them what happened."

"Well, long story short," Hilbert said, "I caught up with the grunt that had the dragon skull's piece, then this guy comes up behind me and knocks me out with a branch! Next thing I know, I'm tied up, and about to be dragged away to Arceus-knows-where! Let's just say I want that guy behind bars."

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," Ghetsis said. The growl was back in his voice. "They may have been in the wrong, but so long as they are part of Team Plasma, they are under _my_ protection. Gorm will not be arrested this day."

"Well, sorry, but that's not how things work," Burgh growled.

Ghetsis smirked. "Are you so sure of that?" Moving quickly, he and the other sages pulled small glass orbs filled with smoke out of their robes, tossing them at the ground. The orbs shattered upon impact, releasing clouds of purple smoke. Just like in the Nacrene City Museum, it caused Hilbert's lungs to burn and his eyes to water, leaving him and his cohorts helpless while figures ran past.

Soon, the smoke cleared, leaving the lobby empty save for the Haxorus, Hilbert, and his gang. "They really like smokescreens, don't they?" Hilbert said, returning Maru to his Poke Ball.

"I'm more concerned about that little monologue Ghetsis gave," Burgh said. "What was his point in telling us all that? And what did he mean by bringing back the hero?"

Hilbert suddenly remembered something N had said to him, and his blood ran cold. _"That is true," N said as he walked away. He stopped about ten feet from Hilbert, however, and continued to speak, looking over his shoulder. "At least I know now what power I need. I need... Reshiram! The Legendary Pokemon, that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's time for me to become that hero, and that is how I will change the world! Not through dictatorship, but through people willingly complying!"_

"I think I know," Hilbert said, horrified. "There's this weird guy called N- I know it's strange, but that's his name- that's been popping up at random times to battle me. Last time I saw him, he was shouting about 'becoming the hero.' Think there's any connection?"

"Possibly," Burgh said. "Unfortunately, without any solid evidence, all we'd be doing by accusing him is pointing fingers. In any case, why don't we get out of here? I need to get back to the Gym ASAP."

They all said their goodbyes to Burgh, who drove off in the direction of the Gym.

"So... that's the end of that little fiasco, right?" Bianca said. "What are you going to do now, Hilbert? Will you challenge the Gym?"

Hilbert looked north, then up at the sky. The sun was well past its zenith, and had begun its descent. "No, actually." he said. "I'm gonna get the first cab I can find to take me to Route 4. I need to catch a Fire-type." With that, he walked off, leaving Bianca and Iris alone.

"Bianca..." Iris said, "I've been thinking about what happened to you, and I don't want it to happen again. So I thought... well, with me being a Gym Leader, I could give you some pointers on how to battle. So, what do ya say? Want some one-on-one training from a Gym Leader?"

"I'd like that," Bianca smiled.

Much later, Hilbert stepped out of his cab. The cab had taken him past the suburbs, to the southern edge of Route 4. He paid for his ride, thanked the driver, and set off. The last scraps of sunlight were beginnings to fade by this point.

 _Gonna have to move fast,_ he thought. _Time is most definitely not on my side here._

Route 4 was a vast desert landscape. There were walking paths on each side of the road, for Trainers on foot. To the sides of the walking path, was sand as far as the eye could see. A perpetual but very tame sandstorm blew sand every which way on this Route, but bad sandstorms had been recorded in the past, with gusts reaching tropical storm levels of speed. Lizard-like Dark/Fighting-types called Scraggy ran amok in this environment, and it was on this Route that Sandile could be found.

However, Hilbert was not interested in these Pokemon, nor did he know (or care) what Scraggy's type was. His goal was simple: Find a red Pokemon. If it was red, it had to be Fire-type. He set out into the sand, wandering around and dodging Sandile that tried to take a bite out his feet for a few minutes until he saw it. The Pokemon was red, rotund, with stubby limbs, an orange face, and yellow, curly eyebrows. It was a Darumaka.

"That's gotta be what I'm looking for," Hilbert said. "Go, Logan!" He tossed out his Herdier, ordering him to use Bite. The attack was successful in hitting the Zen Charm Pokemon, so Hilbert tossed a Great Ball at it. He stayed well away from the Ball until it had shut with a click.

"Okay, another Pokemon caught," Hilbert said. "Let's see if I got lucky and this is a Fire-type." Taking out his Pokedex, he saw that, yes, it was a Fire-type. "Darumaka," he read aloud. Not bothering to check its Dex entry, he scrolled down, looking at its moves. It was level 18, so it knew Rage, Fire Fang, Headbutt, and Uproar. It was the second move that Hilbert needed the most. The Darumaka was also female, but gender didn't really matter to him when it came to his Pokemon team.

"I think I'll call you Makue," he said to his new teammate. "Now, to get outta this desert."

Walking away from the desert, he began his long trek back to Castelia.

* * *

 **A/N: So there you have Castelia** **. Yeah, I didn't have a design for it, can't you tell? "But weren't you gonna use Google Streetview?" I hear you say. Well, yes, I** _ **was,**_ **but I have two words for how that turned out: EPIC FAIL. It only gave me one single 360 degree view of a small part of what I think was the outskirts of Central Park. So, I had to break one of my own rules, and use the anime design for Castelia. I hate myself for it, too. So, to any people from New York reading this, first of all, hi, and second of all, if Castelia sounds nothing like your home city in this story, now you know why. Thankfully, I have at least preliminary designs in mind for every other city (particularly Driftveil). Also, just to let you know, that was the last 'on-screen' Pokemon capture until we get to Zekrom. By the way, have you noticed a sort of theme with Hilbert's Pokemon so far? Look at the stats of their final evolutions and take a guess. And yes, the nickname of Bianca's Munna is a tip of the hat to the manga, before you ask.**


	15. Chapter 13: Premier Insect Artist, Burgh

**A/N:** **Y'know, around this here section of the website, there's a lot of fics that make Ash out to be 'smart,' 'competent,' or 'a ladies man.' But here's the stupid part: by doing that, you're only** ** _highlighting_** **how much he's** ** _not_** **any of the aforementioned things in the anime! The lack of logic here just blows my mind. Did I have to put 'competent!Hilbert' in the summary of this story? No! Wanna know why?** ** _Because he's already competent!_** **Why,** ** _why_** **do most people seemingly insist on writing stories about an idiot when good characters (I.E the game characters) are staring them in the face? Morons. Ignorant morons.** **Just so you're all aware, because stat debuffs do not exist at all in this story, I'm gonna be giving Struggle Bug its Gen 6 base power buff to 50. Not that it'll help much (spoiler: Hilbert wins).**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 13: Premier Insect Artist, Burgh

Stepping through one last honey wall, Hilbert finally arrived in Burgh's chamber in the back of the Gym. The trek through the Gym had not been a pleasant one. To move forward in this Gym, one had to push themselves through walls that were literally made of honey. The first time he did so, Hilbert had ended up exactly like Cheren when he saw him walk out of the Gym. However, now the shoe was on the other foot. It was an experience that Hilbert could rightfully call 'the art gallery from hell'.

Burgh used his Gym as a place to put his paintings, and while Hilbert could agree they were gorgeously drawn, it wasn't worth going through those fucking honey walls to see them. On another note, it was the next day, which he had started off by going to the police station to give back his temporary police badge. After that, it was straight to the Gym to be covered in honey.

Burgh laughed as Hilbert forced his way into the room, making several undignified grunts as he wiped honey off his clothes. "Bahahah! Oh man, that never gets old!"

"Uhh... bleh! I have honey in places where honey should never be, Burgh!" Hilbert groaned.

Burgh just flicked his hand dismissively. "Ah, don't worry about it. It'll wash right off later. Besides, what are you here to do? Complain to me, or battle?"

"I'm beginning to rethink the battle, honestly," Hilbert said under his breath. However, he thought better of that, thinking how satisfying revenge would be.

He pulled a Poke Ball off his belt. "Ready?"

"Oh, yes," Burgh replied. "Go, Whirlipede!"

The Pokemon that Burgh tossed out was among the strangest that Hilbert had ever seen. It was shaped much like a wheel, or more to the point, a car tire, and was purple. Red rings marked every segment of its tire-like body, and from its front, two horns sprouted. Two more horns were also on its back. Yellow eyes could be seen in the centre of the Pokemon's body, one on each side.

Hilbert considered what Pokemon to throw out for a second. By the Pokemon's name, he guessed it was the evolution of Venipede, so Sensei was completely out of the question. He could always throw out his new Darumaka and make short work of the Bug/Poison-type, but Burgh could have a trick up his sleeve, possibly in the form of a counter on his team. It was down to Maru, Scrapper, or Logan. Deciding that Logan would probably be his best bet, he tossed him out.

Burgh got right to it as the screen lit up. "Use Poison Tail!"

The horns on Whirlipede's back glowed purple, and it spun its body like a wheel, building up traction. It suddenly sped off towards Logan, trying to ram into him.

"Dodge it, now!" Hilbert yelled. Logan jumped to the side, and Hilbert quickly sidestepped to avoid the Whirlipede crashing into _him,_ too. "Go after it while it's recovering! Bite!" Hilbert commanded.

Logan ran for the Curlipede Pokemon as it turned around. He sunk his fangs into its hard shell, knocking off a small slice of its health bar on the screen. However, due to Whirlipede's fairly high defence stat, the loss was not too great.

As Logan ran away in retreat after making its attack, Burgh yelled, "Whirlipede, Pursuit!"

Whirlipede suddenly launched itself at Logan, slamming into him horizontally and knocking a full quarter off his health bar. Logan was sent reeling away, landing hard.

"Logan!" Hilbert cried. _Gonna have to do something to get around that thing's defence,_ Hilbert thought. "Work Up, now!"

Logan got to his feet, stamping his paws against the ground for a few seconds, then was surrounded by a reddish-orange glow, indicating that his attack and special attack had been raised.

"Now use Take Down!" Hilbert shouted.

Logan began a full-body, reckless charge towards the Whirlipede, building up speed and momentum as he ran.

"Struggle Bug!" Burgh said. Whirlipede's front horns began to glow green, and out of them shot several small, green tendrils of energy, which raced for Logan. They all hit, causing him to trip up and slam against the ground, rolling for several feet before coming to a stop. The roll hadn't done anything to his health bar, but the attack had taken off another chunk.

Logan pushed himself to his feet as Hilbert thought, _Okay, time for a different approach._

"Logan, Leer, then use Take Down!" Hilbert ordered.

Logan's eyes began to glow red, freezing the Whirlipede in place, then ran for all he was worth for it. He slammed into the stunned Curlipede Pokemon, taking off a sizable chunk of its health bar due to the attack boost from Work Up. It wasn't in the yellow, but it was close. However, the recoil from Take Down shaved another sliver off Logan's health.

"Keep it up, Logan! Go after it! Bite!"

Logan dashed after the Whirlipede, sinking his fangs into it. The attack knocked it down into the low yellow.

As Logan backed off, Burgh once again tried his Pursuit strategy. However, Hilbert had Logan use Leer, countering the attack and stopping it. Hilbert then had Logan use Bite again on the helpless Curlipede Pokemon, knocking it out. Hilbert knew that Scrapper had just gained some experience along with Logan, as he had put the Experience Share on him.

"Good job, Whirlipede, come back," Burgh said. He pulled another Poke Ball off his belt. "Go, Dwebble!"

The Pokemon that emerged in a flash of light resembled a hermit crab. It had a dull-orange body, beady black eyes on eye stalks, and most interestingly, its 'shell' was made of a hollowed-out rock.

"Use Smack Down, Dwebble!" Burgh said.

Dwebble formed a sphere of energy between its pincers, which quickly turned into a rock. It then launched the stone projectile right at Logan.

"Dodge it!" Hilbert yelled.

Logan tried to move aside, but was struck in the flank by it. His remaining health shot down into the red.

"Now finish it off! Faint Attack!" Burgh yelled.

Dwebble suddenly vanished with a ripple effect in the air. It then materialized beside Logan, striking him. His health bar depleted to nothing.

Hilbert quickly recalled Logan, and threw out Maru. Dwebble was obviously a Bug/Rock-type, so Water Gun or Razor Shell would put it down quickly.

"Maru, Water Gun!" Hilbert said.

Maru shot a stream of water out of his mouth, aimed right for Dwebble.

"Faint Attack again!" Burgh yelled.

Dwebble vanished in a blur, causing the high-pressure stream of water to miss. Dwebble then reappeared beside Maru, striking him and taking a chunk off his health bar.

"Razor Shell!" Hilbert yelled, but Dwebble had scuttled out of the way.

"Keep it up with Struggle Bug!" Burgh ordered. Dwebble sent tendrils of green energy out of its pincers, all of them hitting Maru.

"Come on, Maru, hit it! Water Gun!" Hilbert yelled.

Maru shot another stream of water out of his mouth. This time, due to his close proximity to the Dwebble, it was not able to dodge. The Rock Inn Pokemon was propelled backward several feet by the force of the water. However, with Water Gun only being 45 base power with STAB, it also wasn't a one-hit KO, either. Still, Dwebble's health bar shot down to the very low red.

"Finish it off!" Hilbert commanded. "Razor Shell!"

Maru ran at Dwebble, slashing it with both its seashells. The 80 base power attack with STAB was pure overkill, knocking the Dwebble out.

Burgh took the third- and final- Poke Ball off his belt. "Last one, huh?" His eyes suddenly turned determined. "But I won't be squashed! Go, Leavanny!"

In a flash of light, the Nurturing Pokemon appeared. Hilbert was taken aback at just how threatening it could look when it wanted to. Besides that, there was no way Maru was going to be able to beat it. He had over a quarter of his health taken out already, and it was guaranteed that Leavanny had a super-effective STAB move to deal with him.

Hilbert's gut feeling was proven right as Burgh yelled, "Leavanny, Razor Leaf!"

Leavanny raised its arms and slashed them down, sending half a dozen sharp, boomerang-like leaves straight at Maru. He was struck with many of them, sending his health bar down to nothing in a heartbeat and knocking him out.

"Dammit!" Hilbert recalled Maru, and sent out the best bet he had against the Leavnny. "Go, Makue!"

Burgh's eyes widened as the Zen Charm Pokemon appeared. "A Darumaka!? Leavanny, String Shot, now!"

Leavanny spat spider-like silk out of its mouth, wrapping Makue up in it. "Now use Razor Leaf!" Burgh yelled. He was clearly worried, as he knew one Fire-type attack could one-hit KO the Leavanny due to its quad weakness.

The Leavanny once again sent the attack flying at Makue, striking her. Even though she resisted the attack, it still did decent damage because of the low defence stat all Darumaka shared.

"Try and get outta that stuff, Makue!" Hilbert yelled. "Fire Fang!"

Cloaking her teeth in flame, Makue bit down on the thread binding her. It quickly burned up due to the heat. "Now Fire Fang again!" Hilbert called.

With surprising speed for its stubby limbs, Makue raced for the Leavanny. Cloaking her fangs in fire again, she jumped, preparing to chomp down on the Nurturing Pokemon and finish the battle.

"Leavaany, Protect!" Burgh yelled at the last second.

"Wha-!?" Hilbert exclaimed as Leavanny was covered in a green dome of energy. Makue slammed into it and bounced off, landing several feet away. The dome then flickered and died.

"String Shot, Levanny!" Burgh yelled. Leavanny spat the silk out of its mouth again.

"Fire Fang!" Hilbert ordered. Cloaking her teeth in flames, Makue bit the silk in mid-air, setting it ablaze. "Go, now! Right now!"

Makue raced for the Leavanny, her fangs still aflame. She jumped one more time, chomping down with all she had on the Nurturing Pokemon's head. Leavanny cried out in pain, its health bar shooting down to nothing.

"Yes!" Hilbert cried. He ran up to his new team member, crouching down in front of her. "You were great, Makue! Even against something that was higher-levelled than you, you still won..!" Breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush, he returned her to her Poke Ball.

Giving a slow round of applause, Burgh walked over. "Well, that's game, set, and match, right there," he said, tapping Trainer Cards with Hilbert. "Looks like my muse abandoned me in that battle. But losing doesn't bug me. Here- you've earned it."

Burgh took the green Castelia City Gym Badge out of his pocket. It resembled a bright green insect wing, outlined with gold accents that contrasted the green well. "This is the Insect Badge," Burgh said, putting the Badge in Hilbert's open palm.

"Thank you, Burgh," Hilbert said, placing the Insect Badge in his Badge case.

"Oh, yeah, since I'm a generous guy, take this TM, too," Burgh added. He handed Hilbert a TM. "This is TM76, Struggle Bug. 50 base power with no additional effect, I'm afraid, but the little things can make all the difference sometimes, lemme tell ya. Now get outta here and go take a shower. You look like you need it."

"Before I do, I just want to say thank you," Hilbert said. "Just... for bailing me out at Pinwheel Forest, and helping Bianca get her Munna back. If it weren't for you... well, I don't wanna think about that."

"Hilbert, it was my pleasure to help," Burgh said. "Seriously, us Gym Leaders are the _mayors_ of our cities, for crying out loud! Who would we be if we didn't help people out?"

"Pretty bad mayors," Hilbert chuckled. With that, he turned to go. "I'll see ya 'round."

However, he groaned when he realized that in order to get out of the Gym, he had to go through the honey walls _again._ Burgh's laughter followed him out.

* * *

 **A/N: To expand on what I said above, I was recently thinking on what made Origins succeed where the regular anime falls flat on its face, and then it hit me: characters. Specifically, good characters. Red and Blue are good characters. The regular anime has no good characters. To tell a good story, you need to have good characters. The regular anime has annoying, unlikeable (and may I say, completely stupid) little brats. It doesn't matter how 'good' you make Ash in** _ **your**_ **story (and if you're going to do that, why not just use a game character? Hmm?) because he's still an idiot. In layman's terms, while you** _ **can**_ **polish a turd (hey, Mythbusters proved it) it doesn't change the fact that, yeah, it's still shit.**


	16. Chapter 14: Dual Rival Battles

**A/N: ...What the hell have I gotten myself into? Seriously, I am crazy. What do I mean by that? It means I'm taking on not just this project anymore, but am rewriting my Shadow of the Colossus novelization. This story still has priority, but now my workload (and thus, the amount of plot threads I have to keep track of) has essentially _tripled._ Keep in mind, I'm writing these chapters out on paper for this story, but will not be doing that for the SotC story for a number of reasons, chief among them being the fact that it would kill my arm. Also, Guest, what the hell is keeping you from just making an account and PMing me that info? The review section is not a place to tell me news. It is a place to critique a story. I'll let it slide for the second and last time. You do that again, your 'review' will be deleted on sight. Do I make myself clear? Believe it or not, Inkitt is not at the top of my priority list of things to deal with on this site. There's something way, _way_ more important I have to eliminate first.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 14: Dual Rival Battles

If there was one thing that Hilbert felt he was going to hate more and more as his journey went on, it was washing his clothes. Pokemon Centers had an entire floor dedicated to dry-cleaning, but due to the fact that most Trainers only travelled with the clothes on their backs and very rarely packed more garments, it was an unusual arrangement.

The floor used for dry-cleaning had many rooms, each containing a washer/dryer combination. The Centers provided the detergent, so all one had to do was put their clothes in to be washed. However, this was where the problems came in. Given how most Trainers only had one pair of clothes, they were basically forced to stand in these small rooms naked while they were washed. Hilbert was no exception. Thank Arceus the rooms were heated to well above normal temperatures, to keep people from freezing, but heaven help you if you had to go to the bathroom.

He had already had a shower- no _way_ was he going to stand there for Arceus-knows-how-long covered in honey- and was currently watching his clothes spin around and around in the dryer. He had cleaned what couldn't be thrown in the washing machine, that was, his cap, bag, shoes, and Cross-Transceiver, as best he could with a wet cloth, but the former three items would probably have minor stains on them when all was said and done. By some miracle, his Cross-Transceiver had survived, but then, the thing was made to take a beating anyways, so it likely wasn't all that miraculous.

To amuse himself, Hilbert had resorted to using the calculator app on it, typing in random equations and seeing what the answer was. That was, until it started to ring.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, nearly dropping it in surprise and fumbling with it a bit. He hesitated, his finger hovering over the button to accept the call. It was Bianca's number, a friend, but would he dare do this standing in a small room, stark naked?

Sighing, he pressed the button. _Yes,_ he thought, _yes I will._ Just as a precaution, though, he held the Cross-Transceiver at arms length off to the side, to hopefully protect his own modesty.

"Hey there, Hilbert!" came Bianca's voice from the Cross-Transceiver's speaker. When she didn't see Hilbert, though, her voice turned confused. "Huh? Hilbert, where are you? Why am I looking at a ceiling?"

"I'm right here, Bianca, don't worry," Hilbert said, his voice a little uneasy.

"Okay, where are you now?" Bianca asked.

"Me? Oh, uh, Pokemon Center," Hilbert replied. "Had to heal my Pokemon. Burgh did a number on them."

"Well, if you're at the Pokemon Center, why are holding the Cross-Transceiver away from yourself? I wanted to have a battle, 'cause Iris trained me and I've become a little stronger, but it's fine if you don't want to..." Bianca said.

 _Is that all this is about?_ Hilbert thought. "Okay, sure. Where should I meet you?"

"At the gate to Route 4, preferably," Bianca said.

"I'll be there, but, uh, you might be waiting a while," Hilbert said.

"Why?" Bianca suddenly sounded suspicious. "Hilbert, what are you doing? Let me see you."

 _Crap._ Seeing no way out, Hilbert slowly moved the Cross-Transceiver to his face.

"Um, Hilbert? Why are you hatless? And shirtless?" Bianca asked.

"Why do you think!?" Hilbert said frantically, his patience wearing thin. "I'm washing my clothes in the Pokemon Center's dry-cleaning floor! Kinda naked right now!"

Bianca nearly shrieked in mortification and embarrassment, her cheeks going scarlet. "Oh, I'm sorry! Sorrysorrysorry! I'll let you go! Just don't forget about the battle, okay?" With that, she terminated the call.

Hilbert let out a sigh of relief, shutting off the Cross-Transceiver. Ten minutes later, the dryer beeped, indicating it was done. He got dressed, enjoying the feeling (and smell) of freshly-washed, straight-out-of-the-dryer clothes on his body. He grabbed his bag, put his cap on, and exited the room.

Given how he had a battle coming up, he decided to buy a few more Super Potions, bringing his stock up to five. As for his Pokemon, Makue had levelled up quite a bit following the battle with Leavanny. Now at level 20, she had learned Facade, which Hilbert used to replace Uproar, which wouldn't be doing too much damage with Makue's atrocious base 15 special attack. Maru was right on the cusp of a level up, and Logan was a quarter of the way there. Scrapper, meanwhile, was halfway to another level, and Sensei's experience bar sat empty.

 _I guess I can afford to not use him, though,_ Hilbert thought as he paid for the Super Potions. _After all, it's_ Bianca _we're talking about here. She's competent, but not that good. I'll use him the battle after this, though._

He caught a cab to take him to the northern gate of Castelia City. This gate led to the suburbs, and beyond those, was the desert where he had caught his Darumaka. Castelia City's northern gate was unique in that it was actually more like a bridge than anything. The road was in the middle, with the two gates on either side, leading to the suburbs. The Castelia cab service went as far as the edge of the suburbs, but didn't operate in the harsh desert conditions.

The cab dropped him off about a block from the gate. Paying for his ride, Hilbert exited the car, walking the rest of the way. He took the steps two at a time to enter the left side of the structure. While on the outside, the gate looked remarkably different, on the inside, it was the same as all the other gates, aside from being longer. Same dull-orange floor tiles, same electronic screen with its slowly-scrolling yellow-orange text. This one, however, displayed a bit of a warning: _**Route 4 ahead,**_ it said. _**If on foot, make sure to stay hydrated!**_

 _Good advice,_ Hilbert thought, making a mental note to fill his water bottle after the battle with Bianca.

Speaking of the blonde-haired girl, she entered the gate right at that moment. Spotting Hilbert, she jogged over.

"Hey, Hilbert!" she said. "You remember that promise you made? Ready to battle?"

"Are we really doing this in here?" Hilbert asked. "Don't you remember what we did to my room?"

"Well, yeah, but that was when we were all new to being Trainers!" Bianca replied perkily. "Now, we have Badges to our names, so we probably won't trash the place." She spotted the gate's attendant standing behind a desk at the entrance. "I'll just go ask that lady if we can, just to be sure, though. Be right back!"

Bianca ran down the length of the hall, talking to the woman behind the desk. Hilbert couldn't hear what Bianca was asking due to the distance, and a minute later, Bianca ran back over to him.

"She says as long as we don't break the electronic screen, we should be fine," Bianca said. "Oh, and no attacks can hit any pedestrians, either." She gestured to the dozens of people walking around them.

"Maybe we should do this against the side wall, then," Hilbert suggested. "I'll take the back end, you take the front?"

"Sure," Bianca said.

They each took sides on opposite ends of the right wall. "You ready, Hilbert!?" Bianca called. "This is the new-and-improved version of me! Go, Pepper!"

Bianca tossed out her newly-evolved Herdier; Hilbert, deciding to be nice, and give her a fighting chance, sent out Makue.

"Start off with Bite!" Bianca called.

"Go for Fire Fang!" Hilbert commanded.

Both Pokemon ran for each other, fangs bared. However, due to Herdier's slightly higher base speed and body built more for running, it got to its target first. Pepper bit down on Makue, doing a sizable chunk of damage. The Zen Charm Pokemon cried out in pain.

Before Hilbert could think to order a counterattack, Herdier had already backed off, out of range.

 _Damn your low defence stat, Makue,_ Hilbert thought. _The day when you evolve can't come soon enough._

"Keep after it! Facade!"

Given how most of Makue's moves were 70 power with or without STAB, it really didn't matter what he had her attack with. Makue's body became surrounded in an orange glow, and she ran for Herdier, slamming into her. Herdier was knocked back some distance.

Normally, according to the Pokedex, Facade was a glorified Tackle with higher base power. However, when a Pokemon inflicted with a status condition, like poison, used it, its base power doubled. Hilbert didn't think Bianca had any moves capable of inflicting status on her team, though.

By now, several bystanders had gathered to watch the battle, further cutting down on the amount of space Hilbert and Bianca had to fight in.

"Uh... you people might want to back up," Hilbert said. "This could get crazy."

For her part, Bianca did not seem to care. "Pepper, Take Down!"

Bianca's Loyal Dog Pokemon raced for Makue, Hilbert barely having enough time to shout for her to dodge. _He_ was then forced to turn to the side as well, to avoid Pepper colliding with him and breaking his shins.

Pepper, surprisingly, turned on a dime, racing back for Makue. Hilbert pressed himself against the wall to keep from being hit yet again, yelling, "Makue, Fire Fang!"

Just as Pepper was about to slam into Makue, she cloaked her teeth in flames, and ran at the Herdier, chomping down on her face. The Loyal Dog Pokemon cried out in pain, the Fire-type attack taking its toll.

Pepper quickly shook Makue off her, the Zen Charm Pokemon landing near the crowd of onlookers. Some of them cried out, backing away. Makue got right back to her stubby feet, jumping back into the fray.

"Atta girl, Makue! Headbutt!" Hilbert shouted.

Makue ran towards Pepper, slamming her forehead into the opposing Pokemon. Pepper went down with a cry, unconscious. The people surrounding the battle applauded, while Bianca returned Pepper to her Poke Ball, her eyes hardening.

 _It's alright, Bianca,_ the girl thought to herself. _Just remember Iris's training. What would be the best Pokemon to send out in this situation?_ After a few more seconds of deliberation, she made her choice.

"Go, Musha!" She tossed out her Munna's Poke Ball. In a flash of light, the pink Dream Eater Pokemon appeared.

"Shut that thing down, Musha! Yawn!" Bianca commanded. A white cloud with a kaleidoscope-like effect appeared around Munna's face, which then shot towards Makue. It blew in her face like a strong wind, but other than that, it seemed to do nothing.

 _Okay..._ Hilbert thought, blinking incredulously, _Attacking now._

"Makue, Fire Fang!" he called.

The Darumaka, however, only responded by drunkenly swaying on its feet, falling dead asleep a second later.

"What the hell?" Hilbert cried. "Makue, wake up!"

"Yes!" Bianca cheered. "Now's our chance! Musha, Psybeam, now!"

Musha closed its eyes, gathering energy at its forehead. It then shot a rainbow-coloured beam at Makue, hitting her dead-on. Still, Makue didn't stir, even as she was hit again. This time, the attack proved too much, and it knocked her out.

 _Damn,_ Hilbert thought. He quickly threw out Logan, knowing he had to bring down the Munna quickly

"Bite, Logan!"

Logan ran for Munna. The Dream Eater Pokemon tried to dodge, but due to its sluggish speed compared to the Herdier, it was hit with the super-effective attack, Logan having to jump to reach the hovering Pokemon.

"Musha!" Bianca shouted. "Psybeam, now!"

Ignoring the pain as best it could, Musha again gathered energy at its forehead.

"Get outta there, Logan! Now!" Hilbert yelled, but it was too late. The point-blank beam of psychic power blasted Logan right off of Musha, sending him flying backwards. He landed at his Trainer's feet, but got back up, growling. Without a command from Hilbert, he dashed off towards the Munna, eager for revenge.

"Yawn!" Bianca yelled.

The kaleidoscope-cloud formed around Musha, then flew toward Logan.

"Dodge it!" Hilbert yelled.

Logan quickly jumped to the side as the cloud sped towards him. He slammed into the wall on the right, but recovered quickly, jumping and chomping down on Musha. Not about to fall for the same thing twice, he released his hold after a second, hopping down. He dodged a Psybeam at Hilbert's command, and successfully landed another super-effective Bite.

By now, Munna was clearly on its last bits of health. It was hovering weakly in the air, letting out occasional whines of pain. It seemed like it could only take one more Bite attack before fainting. However, Bianca had a trick up her sleeve.

"Moonlight!" she called.

Munna closed its eyes, the image of a full moon appearing around it. The crowd gasped in awe. Munna then began to glow. Hilbert realized what was happening in a second. It was healing itself!

"Logan, Bite! Now! Stop that thing!" he shouted.

Logan dashed for Munna, jumping and biting down on its face. Even with the amount of health it had recovered, the super-effective attack was too much for the Dream Eater Pokemon. It fell to the ground, fainted.

Now down to only two Pokemon, Bianca was forced to throw out her starter after recalling Musha. "Go, Taroko!" In a flash, Pignite appeared.

Pignite was orange and brown, pig-like Pokemon. However, it, unlike, Tepig, was bipedal, unlike Tepig's quadrupedal form. There was a large brown marking on its chubby torso that did not look dissimilar to a wrestler's leotard, which was further compounded by its brown hands that made it look like it was wearing gloves. Its ears were straight and pointed up, while its tail was curly, with a furry tip.

"You changed its name?" Hilbert said. "How? I thought once you gave a Pokemon its nickname, it was stuck with it for life."

"Oh, funny thing about that," Bianca said. "There's a guy called the Name Rater in this city. He can legally change the nickname of your Pokemon for free! How cool is that?"

"Huh, good to know," Hilbert said. "Anyways, Logan, Leer, then Take Down!"

Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing Pignite in place. He then raced for it, slamming into the opposing Pokemon. The attack did a fair bit of damage, knocking Pignite back. Hilbert knew he had to fight carefully, as one Fighting-type attack from Pignite could easily KO Logan. Use of Leer would be essential.

Bianca went right for the jugular. "Taroko, Arm Thrust!"

Pignite ran at Logan, pulling back its fist as it prepared to strike.

"Logan, Leer, now!" Hilbert yelled.

"Taroko, look away!" Bianca yelled.

"Wha-!?" Hilbert exclaimed as Pignite closed its eyes while continuing to run, avoiding Logan's piercing gaze. Grabbing hold of Logan with one hand, it then delivered a punishing series of two open-palmed hits, then finished with a brutal punch, the last strike sending Logan flying away to land hard.

Incredibly, Logan somehow got up, though he looked like he was on his last legs, with only a sliver of health remaining.

"Finish it with Flame Charge!" Bianca yelled.

"Take Down!" Hilbert yelled at Logan.

Pignite became surrounded by fire, beginning another run at Logan as the Loyal Dog Pokemon did the same thing. The two Pokemon smashed into each other headfirst, but Pignite's flame-assisted momentum was the winner, knocking Logan out. However, he did do a fair bit of damage to the Fire Pig Pokemon with his final attack.

A yellow-orange glow surrounded Pignite for a second, indicating that a stat- likely speed or special attack- had gone up by one stage.

"Come back, Logan. You did great," Hilbert said. However, he knew he was slowly getting backed into a corner by Bianca. Due to the stat increase that Flame Charge had given Pignite, it was unlikely that Maru could beat it, even with the type advantage. Left with no choice, he sent out Sensei. The Karate Pokemon appeared in a flash of light as Hilbert threw him out.

"Sensei, Double Kick!" he yelled.

"Taroko, Flame Charge!" Bianca commanded.

Both Pokemon charged for each other, but the Sawk's better speed won out, and he got to his target first. He spun on his heel, giving Pignite a devastating kick, sending it flying into the wall, denting it. Sensei followed that up by walking calmly over to his opponent, who was still getting up, and smashing his foot right into Pignite's face, stopping any chance of the Fire Pig Pokemon continuing to fight.

"Taroko!" Bianca yelled, shocked at the Sawk's brutishness. "Come back, now!"

She locked eyes with Hilbert, fire burning in hers. "You'll pay for that, Hilbert!" she said. "Go, Fune!" She threw out her Pansage, who growled at Sensei in a weak attempt at intimidation.

"Fune, Vine Whip!" Bianca said.

Pansage grew a long, thin vine out of its arm and dashed for its enemy.

 _Wait for it..._ Hilbert thought. As the Pansage raised its arm to strike, he yelled, "Leer, then Double Kick!"

Unfortunately for Bianca, it was too late to tell Pansage to look away. Sensei's eyes glowed red, freezing the Grass Monkey Pokemon in place. Moving fast, the Sawk closed the distance between himself and Pansage, kicking it in the face. One more kick after that, and it was over. The crowd applauded, pleased at the showing.

"Well done, Sensei!" Hilbert said. The blue Pokemon turned his Trainer and bowed, Hilbert recalling him.

"B-but... even with Iris's training..." Bianca whimpered, recalling Pansage. Hilbert walked up to her, taking his Trainer Card out of his jacket pocket. Bianca forced herself to swallow her disappointment, taking out her Trainer Card as well.

"Well, that was a good battle!" she said with obviously-forced enthusiasm, tapping cards with him. "I kinda was backing you into a corner there, wasn't I?"

"Don't be too sure," Hilbert said, chuckling a bit. "If I was using my Sawk the whole time, I might've just swept your team. Only thing I'd have to worry about in that case is your Munna, and even then, some careful use of Leer would be all that I'd need."

"Oh..." Bianca said. "So, you were going easy on me?"

"Kinda, yeah," Hilbert said. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Bianca said. "I don't think I'll ever as strong as you or Cheren or Iris, but ever since we left Nuvema Town, I've met people and saw things and had experiences I never would have if I'd never set out on this journey..."

 _I like your optimism,_ Hilbert thought sarcastically, thinking of how most of the experiences he'd had so far had been _bad_ ones.

"Anyways, it's got me thinking..." Bianca continued.

"About what?" Hilbert asked.

"What I want to, well, _do_ ," Bianca said. "Like, with my life. There's plenty to do that doesn't involve being a Trainer and battling with them, right? So... so maybe if I completely flunk out and end up being a lost cause as a Trainer, I could find something else to do. For now, though, I'll keep going. Ya never know, right?"

"That's actually a really great outlook to have, Bianca," Hilbert said. He gave her a sort of half-smile. "Not everyone's cut out to be a Trainer. Hell, I don't even know why some people are so skilled and others aren't. But like you said, you never know. I think it's a good idea to keep going with this adventure. You'll find your calling. Whatever it is."

"Yeah," Bianca said. "Just... promise me one thing."

"What is it?" Hilbert asked.

"That next time we battle, you won't hold back," Bianca said, her eyes turning determined. "You'll fight me with everything you've got! Okay?"

"Alright, but when that happens, just know you asked for it," Hilbert said.

Bianca nodded. "Okay. I should get going. I need to get to a Pokemon Center to heal my Pokemon now. See you around."

"Later."

With that, Bianca turned around and made her way out of the gate, the crowd muttering excitedly among themselves as they dispersed.

Not feeling like trekking back through the entire city to heal his Pokemon, Hilbert instead used three of his five Super Potions to heal his downed team members. When he did this, the Pokedex in his pocket chirped. Taking it out, he looked at his Pokemon's experience bars. Makue's bar was a little under a quarter of the way full, Scrapper had gained a level and then some in terms of experience. Maru's bar sat right where it was before, considering he hadn't used him. Logan was now three-quarters of the way to a level-up, and Sensei was now halfway there. Putting his Dex away, he then exited the gate, heading out into the Castelia City suburbs.

Luckily, there was a water fountain just outside the gate. Remembering his mental note, Hilbert took his water bottle out of his bag and filled it to the brim, capping it.

Walking among the rows of nearly identical houses in the increasingly-arid environment felt alien. The suburbs of Striaton were one thing, but this was like stepping onto another planet, one comprised entirely of houses and concrete roads. It was hard not to get lost in the maze of streets, but he tried to go off of the memory of yesterday, during his cab ride through it all.

Evidently, though, memory proved unreliable, and soon he found himself lost. Worse yet, the houses where he was looked much shabbier, meaning he had probably stumbled into a rougher part of the suburbs without meaning to.

 _Shit,_ he thought. This meant that knocking on someone's door to ask for directions was almost certainly out of the question, as he didn't know what types of shady characters lived in these houses, and he had no desire to find out.

As it turned out, however, he didn't have to go _to_ the shady characters at all.

"Hey, you!" A voice from behind him yelled.

Hilbert turned around, seeing several men in dark jackets- likely a gang- heading his way. "Oh, double shit," he breathed.

Seeing no way to avoid a confrontation, as they likely knew the area better than he did, so running was futile. Resigning himself to his fate, he began to walk towards them. When both parties were about fifteen feet away from each other, they stopped.

One of the gang members stepped forward. He was particularly muscular, with a bald head and surly expression on his face. "What are you doin' on our turf, kid?" he snapped at Hilbert.

Hilbert bit down a snarky remark, reminding himself that it was not a good idea to antagonize the guy who looked like he could snap you like a twig. Instead, he shrugged. "I didn't know I was on it. I'm uh, kinda new to this place, so if you'd tell me how to get to Route 4, I'll be on my way."

Another of the gang members spoke up. "Ah, fresh meat, huh? I say we beat him up the physical way, boss. Forget using Pokemon, let's tear him apart with our bare hands! See what kind of stuff he has on him."

 _Triple shit,_ Hilbert thought, taking Maru's and Sensei's Poke Balls off his belt. He swallowed thickly, trying to sound brave as he said, "I-I'm not looking for a fight! I just want to know how to get to Route 4!"

The muscular man pulled a Poke Ball off his belt, ignoring Hilbert. "As much as I like the sound of that idea, _on paper,_ Silvester, I think it'll be more fun to take out his Pokemon first, _then_ beat him up. I get first swing, though. At his Pokemon and him!"

He threw out his Poke Ball. It opened to reveal a Sandile.

"What the hell is wrong with you people!?" Hilbert shouted, throwing out Maru. "You're worse than those fucking Team Plasma assholes!"

"Maybe we are," the gang leader said. "But look on the bright side, kid: At least we'll let you keep your Pokemon- in your casket, that is! Sandile, Assurance!"

"Maru, Razor Shell!" Hilbert yelled.

Both Pokemon ran at each other, Maru taking the seashells off his thighs, slashing at the Desert Croc Pokemon that attempted to hit him with its tail. Just like all the other times Maru had fought Sandile, one Mystic Water-boosted Water-type attack was all it took. Sandile never had a chance, and was knocked out in one hit.

"What the hell!?" The gang leader exclaimed in shock. He recalled his Sandile to its Poke Ball. "How!? Even with STAB, that shouldn't have been a one-hit KO!"

Hilbert couldn't help but smirk. "Mystic Water."

The gang leader's face was turning red with anger. "All of you, stay back," he warned his men, advancing forward. "I'll strangle the life outta this kid personally."

Hilbert gulped as the man broke into a run right at him. He braced himself as the gang leader reared his fist back, ready to punch, but no strike came. There was just a sudden slicing sound, and the man's screams a second later.

It took Hilbert a second to register what had happened. Maru was standing in front of him, in a fighting pose and hissing, one of his seashells dripping blood.

 _But... Pokemon don't have blood,_ he thought. _So that means..._ He looked at the ground in front of the gang leader, and wanted to be sick. There on the pavement, was a severed hand.

" _Ahh! Agh! My hand!"_ The gang leader yelled, clutching at the stump on the end of his left arm. "You... fucking... _bastard!"_ He took a few stumbling steps backward. "Next time we meet, kid... I'll hang you with your own intestines!"

The gang then ran off, the other members helping the leader away.

Breathing heavily and shaking from fear, Hilbert squatted down to Maru's level. "Thanks, buddy. If you hadn't done that..."

Maru only gave him a solemn, affirmative nod, as if to say, _It had to be done._

"I think we should get outta here, though, before someone sees that on the ground," Hilbert said, returning Maru to his Poke Ball. Just looking at the hand on the ground, blood still seeping out of where the the wrist should have been, made him want to throw up. Kicking his shoes into action, he ran away as fast as he could.

He continued on through the sea of houses, and just like with the cab ride, he noticed that sand was beginning to replace grass on people's front lawns the more north he went. The wind was starting to pick up, as well, blowing the gritty substance everywhere. Eventually, the ocean of houses started to thin, giving way to a vast desert with nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. The single highway with walking paths on either side cut right through the middle.

"Well... here we go," Hilbert said, taking his first steps onto the walking path. Being alone in the huge sandy landscape with nothing but his own thoughts and the constant sound of the wind to keep him company, he allowed himself to be consumed by what he was thinking.

 _Second time,_ he thought. _That's the second time in less than a month I've had my life threatened. Is this similar to what the Legendary Trainers had to go through? And how many more times will it happen? I hope never again... for my own sanity's sake._

He got his water bottle out of his bag, taking a long drink. The heat wasn't unbearable- it was only nearing the end of March- but it was still there, making sweat form on his brow and armpits. After two or three hours more of walking and many more gulps of water, he started to see what looked liked the outlines of tall buildings and canyon walls on the horizon.

 _I couldn't have made it already, right?_ he thought. As he got closer, it turned out that no, he had not. The buildings were still under construction, and likely still would be for quite some time due to the sandstorm, just empty husks standing in silent watch over northern Route 4.

However, as he entered the eerily silent construction site, he saw someone he most definitely recognized amongst the strange landscape. He groaned out loud when he saw it was Cheren. The bespectacled, raven-haired teen had two of his Pokemon out of their Poke Balls, engaged in mock battle. To Hilbert's shock, he saw Cheren's Snivy and Purrloin had evolved into Servine and Liepard, respectively.

Servine was similar to Snivy, but had smaller limbs and looked more regal. It had kept its cream underbelly and green topside colouring, but now a yellow V-shaped crest grew out of its chest, extending behind its shoulders. Three big leaves grew along its back and tail.

Liepard, on the other hand, could not have been more different to its pre-evolution. It was more leopard than housecat-like, with a predatory, slender body, speckled with yellow splotches. Its tail end was curved in a sickle-like fashion.

As Hilbert got closer, Cheren recalled his Pokemon, stretched his arms above his head, and turned around, seeing his former friend. Frankly, he now considered Hilbert more of an obstacle- the wall he had to hurdle if he wanted to prove he was the best. A sinister smirk played at the edges of his lips. _Well, there's no time like the present, is there?_ he thought.

He walked up to Hilbert as the other boy approached him, seemingly lost in his thoughts. "Well, look what the desert coughed up!" He said in a boastful manner. "You got the Insect Badge, right? I say it's high time we had another battle, see who's stronger."

Hilbert simply walked past him in silence.

"Hey!" Cheren yelled. "What are you, deaf!? That was basically an open challenge to battle! Where are you going!?"

Hilbert stopped, and turned around. Cheren's expression of scorn turned into a scrutinizing one at the hollowness in Hilbert's brown eyes. "Not now, Cheren," he said flatly. "I'm not in the mood."

For a moment, Cheren almost let Hilbert go. Then he growled, throwing a Poke Ball past Hilbert's face. It opened ahead of him, revealing Cheren's Pidove, Interceptor. The Tiny Pigeon Pokemon spread its wings, trying to appear bigger than it was and block his path.

"And who says I'm giving you a choice?" Cheren said. "We're battling, Hilbert, whether you like it or not."

Hilbert turned his head to look at Cheren. His hand slowly reached down to his belt, pulling a Poke Ball off it. Cheren called Interceptor back to his side as Hilbert enlarged the Ball.

"Fine," Hilbert said. His next words dripped with venom. "But only because you asked _so_ nicely. Go, Sensei!"

The lean, blue Karate Pokemon appeared in a flash of light. It took a fighting stance as Pidove puffed out its chest.

"Interceptor, Quick Attack!" Cheren said.

"Sensei, Leer, then Double Kick!" Hilbert yelled.

Pidove flapped its wings and took to the air, flying at Sawk. The blue Pokemon's eyes simply glowed red, freezing the Tiny Pigeon Pokemon in place and causing it to plummet to the ground.

Sensei then sprung into action, running at the falling Pidove. "Snap out of it, Interceptor! Try and dodge!" Cheren yelled.

It was too late. Sawk ran into range of the falling Pidove, smashing his feet into into it, one after the other in quick succession. Interceptor was sent flying backwards, landing hard. Due to its secondary Flying-type, the Fighting-type Double Kick had only dealt neutral damage, but the hit had easily sheared off at least half its health.

Letting out a pained coo, Interceptor got up, shaking its head. Gritting his teeth, Cheren yelled, "Interceptor, Air Slash!"

Pidove's wings glowed blue, and it slashed them downwards, sending several visible crescent-shaped blades of air at Sensei.

"Dodge them, Sensei!" Hilbert cried.

Sawk ducked, dodged, and weaved, but was hit by one of the air-blades. The super-effective hit did a number on him, but not enough to knock him out.

"Leer!" Hilbert commanded. Sensei's eyes glowed red, once again freezing Pidove in place with his gaze. "Now Double Kick!"

The Karate Pokemon ran at Pidove, kicking it twice and knocking it out.

Cheren recalled his Tiny Pigeon Pokemon, grabbing his next Poke Ball off his belt. "Go, Allizel!"

In a flash, the blue-and-cream Spray Pokemon appeared. Panpour looked very similar to the Pansage that Cilan had used, save for, again, its colouring and the growth on its head, which, in Panpour's case, looked like a splash created by dropping a heavy stone into a lake.

Cheren didn't waste any time in attacking. "Allizel, Water Gun!"

Panpour shot a high-pressure stream of water out of its mouth at the Sawk, too fast to dodge. The Karate Pokemon was hit dead-on, knocking him backwards.

"Use Leer, then Focus Energy!" Hilbert said.

Sensei's eyes glowed red, freezing the Panpour in place. He then closed his eyes, concentrating. A yellow glow surrounded him for a few seconds, then faded away.

"Double Kick! Dodge whatever it throws at you!" Hilbert yelled.

 _Oh, no, I am_ not _losing_ _to that Focus Energy trick twice,_ Cheren thought. "Meet it with Fury Swipes!"

Both Sawk and Panpour ran at each other, but Sawk had the speed and reach advantage, lashing out first, striking the Spray Pokemon. As it turned out, a critical hit wasn't even needed. Panpour's defence stat was so low, one Double Kick was enough to knock it out.

"Dammit!" Cheren yelled. He returned his Panpour, snatching up another Poke Ball. "Interloper, get out there!"

Cheren's Liepard materialized onto the sandy terrain. "Pursuit!"

Liepard, its tail flicking, ran at Sensei. "Wait for it..." Hilbert muttered to himself. "Now, Double Kick!"

Sensei lashed out with his leg, catching the Cruel Pokemon in the jaw. Due to Focus Energy, the first hit was critical, knocking the Liepard out before it had even hit the ground.

Cheren's face was growing red, though from anger or embarrassment, Hilbert didn't know, nor did he really care.

 _Fuck you, Hilbert,_ Cheren thought murderously. Recalling his Liepard, he sent out his last Pokemon- his newly-evolved Servine. "Tara, you know what to do! Take that thing out!"

Insane determination lacing his voice, Cheren ordered Servine to use Leaf Tornado.

Servine quickly spun around and around, creating a whirlwind that gathered sand and small bits of debris alike, then shot it at Sensei by cracking its body like a whip.

The attack caught the Karate Pokemon off guard, spinning him around in it and battering him all at once. The attack quickly drained away the last of his health. Sawk fell to his knees, fainting.

"Come back, Sensei," Hilbert said, recalling him to his Poke Ball. Picking the obvious choice against a Grass-type, he sent out Makue.

Even in the face of almost certain defeat, Cheren was not willing to fold. "Tara, Growth, and then Wrap!"

"Makue, Fire Fang!" Hilbert yelled.

Servine became surrounded in a green glow, which quickly turned reddish-orange as Makue cloaked her fangs in flame, racing for the Grass Snake Pokemon. Servine was faster though, growing vines out of its stubby arms and entangling the Zen Charm Pokemon in them, starting to squeeze.

Makue cried out in pain, and in desperation, she bit down on the vines with her still fire-covered teeth. The vines holding her immediately caught fire, the flames spreading and licking at Servine's body. It shrieked in fear, letting Makue go.

"Headbutt while it's open!" Hilbert yelled.

Makue slammed the top of her head into Servine, sending it stumbling back. However, Servine then began to glow, indicating its health had been restored by an item.

"Huh!?" Hilbert grunted in surprise as Servine got up.

"Ha ha, I knew that Sitrus Berry I found would come in handy," Cheren said.

 _Damn,_ Hilbert thought. _This... complicates things a bit. Gonna have to get in one more attack now._

"Makue, use Headbutt!"

Makue slammed the top of her head into Servine, sending it reeling back.

"Now Fire Fang! Finish this!"

Servine was helpless to do anything as Makue chomped down on it with flaming teeth. The super-effective attack, delivered by Makue's high attack stat, was just enough to get the job done. Crying out in pain, Servine collapsed.

"What!?" Cheren exclaimed. "How!? Why can't I win!? That's the third time I've lost to you!" He recalled his starter to its Poke Ball. Stalking up to Hilbert, he tapped Trainer Cards with him.

"Maybe it's because you're so damn arrogant!" Hilbert yelled. "You always rush in, expecting to win just 'cause you're farther down a Route than me. Newsflash for ya: It doesn't matter where you're standing or what you say when you can't put your money where your mouth is."

He sighed. "What happened to you, Cheren? Ever since we started- no, even before that- you've been acting like a douche. You act like you're so hard done by when all you can't do is beat me; meanwhile I've had my arm sliced open, nearly got taken captive by Team Plasma, and threatened by gang members! So shut the fuck up about "being the strongest!" It's not _just_ about that! And if you can't see past that, then stay out of my way."

Throughout Hilbert's speech, Cheren's eyes grew more and more wide. "Come on," he said finally. "We've still got a ways to go to get to Nimbasa, and it'll get dark soon."

The boys walked side by side in silence, Cheren's hands shoved in his pockets, thinking. They kept going through the abandoned construction site, the unfinished buildings staring down at them. The sun kept getting lower on the horizon, worrying them, though neither spoke up. Camping out in the open on a Route was tantamount to suicide with all the wild Pokemon roaming around.

It was Cheren who spotted their salvation. "Look, over there," he said.

Hilbert followed where he was pointing, and saw a small shack. "That must have been a rest house for workers," he said. "I say we use it as shelter for tonight."

They ran towards it, Hilbert of course getting there first because of his shoes. The inside was fairly plain, with a desk along the back wall, and bunk beds to the right.

"Not much, but it'll do," Hilbert said.

"Top bunk's mine," Cheren said.

Hilbert just rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

With the sun now on its last legs, they got into their respective beds, but Hilbert couldn't resist one last snarky jab. "'Night, _friend._ "

The only reply he got was a snort and a growl from the top bunk.


	17. Chapter 15: Backtracking

**A/N: Let the quote below the title set the tone for the rest of the story. It's one of my** **favourite** **things ever said by anyone.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 15: Backtracking

" **When you're going through hell... keep going." -Winston Churchill**

The first thing that Hilbert felt when he awoke was hunger. Painful, all-consuming _hunger._ With a groan, he realized he had not eaten anything since breakfast the previous day, when he'd challenged Burgh, and now he was paying the price, his stomach crying out for food. He got out of the bed, feeling sweat clinging to his body, making his clothes stick to his skin. Evidently, it hadn't been air-conditioned in the rest house, so not only was he hungry, he was a walking mass of body odor.

He checked his bag for some food, in the off chance he had any, but found nothing. "Just friggin' great..." he muttered. Checking the top bunk to see if Cheren was still there, Hilbert saw he was, still lightly snoozing away.

 _Lazy bastard,_ he thought. Just then, the Cross-Transceiver started to ring, startling Hilbert for the second time in as many days. Cheren awoke with a surprised yell. He almost fell out of the top bunk, but caught himself at the last second.

"What's happening?" he asked, still half-asleep.

"Cross-Transceiver call, obviously," Hilbert said. "Now get your lazy ass up and answer it."

Pressing the 'accept call' button, Hilbert answered the ringing device, Cheren doing the same seconds later. To both their surprises, someone they hadn't seen in weeks was the one calling.

"Hello, you two sleepyheads!" Professor Juniper said cheerfully as her face appeared on the Cross-Transceiver's screen. "Did you have a good rest?"

"I've had better," Cheren groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What is it? Do you need something?"

"Yes, actually. I want you to meet me at the gate to Nimbasa City," Juniper said. "How close are you two to it?"

"Not the farthest we could be, but not close, either," Hilbert said. "I'm not sure how long you're gonna be waiting. We'll do our best to get there quick, though."

Finally climbing down from the top bunk, Cheren asked, "What is this about anyway? And... wait a minute... how'd you get to the Nimbasa City gate so fast?"

"I have my ways, Cheren," Juniper said. "Now, have either of you seen Bianca? I called her, but she didn't pick up."

"She probably didn't answer 'cause it's so early," Hilbert said. "I had a battle with her yesterday, though, if knowing that's any consolation."

"Alright," Juniper said. "Just get here as soon as you can."

Before either boy could say anything else, she terminated the connection, ending the call.

"Well, let's not waste any more time," Cheren said, slinging his backpack's straps over his shoulders. Hilbert slung his messenger bag's strap over his chest.

The two ventured out into the morning sun of the desert construction site. The heat hit them like a wall. Hilbert took off his cap, using it to fan himself. "Just great..." he grumbled. "On top of starving, now I gotta deal with this damn heat."

"Didn't eat much yesterday, I take it?" Cheren asked. He put his hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun's rays.

"No, I didn't," Hilbert said. "There's no food in my bag, either. Unless you happen to have something..?"

"Nope. Ate it all yesterday trekking through that desert," Cheren said.

Hilbert just groaned as his stomach rumbled.

"Relax, Nimbasa's just a couple kilometres away," Cheren said. "I'm sure you can hold out until then."

"I hope," Hilbert groaned.

They set off into the construction site, heading north to Nimbasa. There really wasn't much to write home about for the rest of the journey. Hilbert's growling stomach got increasingly louder, his moans of hunger getting more frequent. The road through the northern part of Route 4, at least, was well-kept, with sand swept off to the sides, not unlike snow.

Before too long, the half-finished buildings gave way to canyon walls, and after that, the gate to Nimbasa City was in view. Hilbert spotted another path leading west, but decided he would check that out later, after he got some food in his belly. Nestled in between the high canyon walls, was the gate. The walls had been widened to allow a four-lane highway beside the gate. Grateful to get someplace air-conditioned, both boys let out sighs of relief as they walked into it.

Juniper was sitting on one of the chairs off to the side, but stood up as she saw Hilbert and Cheren enter the building. She walked over to them. "Ah, there you two are!" she said. "I knew you wouldn't-" She stopped talking as she took a whiff of the air. "Wow, PU! I guess hygiene goes out the window in the desert, doesn't it? You both smell awful!"

"I need food," Hilbert moaned, rubbing his stomach.

"What you both need are _showers,_ " Juniper said. "Luckily for you, there are showers in this gate, and you just wrote the book on why." She pointed to her left, towards a doorway marked with the symbols of a showerhead and an arrow on either side.

"What does this have to do with your call earlier, Professor?" Cheren said.

 _One track mind as always, I see,_ Juniper thought, nearly rolling her eyes. "Well, Elesa called me and asked me what new Electric-types she should add to her team. The best advice I could give her, though, is to pick either the Joltik line or the Tynamo line. Electric-types are kind of few and far between in Unova, I'm afraid. However, that did remind me of you guys. Since you're still working on your Pokedexes- I hope- I decided to give you these as help!"

Juniper took the large backpack she was wearing off her shoulder, set it on the floor, and opened it. She rummaged around in it for a second, before pulling out two boxes, which, when opened, revealed they were filled with Ultra Balls- ten each, to be exact.

While Cheren accepted the gift politely, Hilbert nearly groaned out loud, a dismayed expression appearing on his face.

"Something wrong, Hilbert?" Juniper said. "Having Poke Balls on you at all times is very important. After all, if you see a rare Pokemon, and don't have any Poke Balls to catch it with, you'll be kicking yourself. Trust me, I've been there before."

"It's not that, Professor," Hilbert said weakly. "It's just... I feel gross, I need a shower, like you said, and most all, _I need to eat._ I didn't have anything except breakfast yesterday. So... if you have any food in that bag, that'd be great."

"I might have a sandwich or two in here, let me check," Juniper said, once again looking inside her bag. She pulled out a slightly-squashed looking sandwich in a plastic bag. "I _think_ this is PB&J. You might have to just taste it and see."

Hilbert took the bag from her, opened it, and chowed down while making ravenous noises. He finished the sandwich in the span of two minutes, taking huge bites, much to the disgust of Cheren and Juniper.

"Okay..." Juniper said. "Well, that was... charming..." Her face then turned a bit more serious. "Now, about where to use those Ultra Balls I gave you, the best place to use them around here is the Desert Resort, just to the southwest of here. You can find all kinds of Pokemon there that can't be encountered anywhere else in Unova. So, if you need a new member for your teams, you just might find it there."

 _Noted,_ Cheren thought. He had been extremely dissatisfied with the performance of his Liepard, so a replacement team member just might be what the doctor ordered.

"Now," Juniper continued, "Just because I said all that, and this might seem strange coming from me, is don't forget to experience Unova to its fullest. There's a lot to see and do in this region, so take part in as much of it as you possibly can. In other words, just... enjoy the journey."

At those words, Hilbert let out a short, harsh bark of laughter.

"Is there something funny with what I just said, Hilbert?" Juniper asked.

"'Enjoy the journey'? You're kidding me, right?" Hilbert snapped. "Because judging from what I've gone through so far, it's been decidedly _less_ than enjoyable. In fact, let's go down the list, shall we? In order, I've had my arm sliced open and gotten stitches, been _used as a damn hostage_ by a criminal organization, and, _just yesterday,_ had my life threatened by a gang! And you're telling me to 'enjoy the journey!?'"

Juniper could only look on in shock as Hilbert stormed past her, ignoring the looks that several bystanders were giving him. He turned around, not able to resist getting in one last harsh jab. "You'll forgive me if I'm finding what's turning out to be a trek through hell a bit hard to enjoy."

With that, he stalked out of the gate, leaving a wide-eyed Juniper and Cheren in his wake.

"What..?" Juniper eventually managed to force out. She turned to Cheren. "Was all of that true?"

"As far as I know, yes, sadly," Cheren said. "He told- well, actually, yelled at me- about it yesterday. It was just after our battle-"

"Wait," Juniper interrupted in quiet shock. "You _fought_ him?"

"Yeah, it wasn't the first time, either," Cheren replied. "I've challenged him like... three times now, but I've lost every time. He's good, I'll give him that, but I'll get better and beat him someday."

Now so utterly aghast she was at a loss for words, Juniper was only able to force out a quiet, "I think I'll go to Castelia and look for Bianca in person. I'll see you around, Cheren."

Cheren watched her go with a perplexed look on his face, then shrugged and walked off to the side. He had a shower to take.

As soon as Juniper was out of the gate, she pulled out a Poke Ball, and released her Braviary, getting on it and flying away. As the wind caressed her face and the scenery passed by far below her, she lost herself in her thoughts. _I hope you realized what you got these kids into when you asked me to give them Pokemon, Julia,_ she thought, referring to Hilbert's mother. _Maybe this wasn't the best idea_.

The warm water of the shower poured down on Hilbert's head, washing away the sand that had become trapped in his hair on his trek through the desert. He helped himself to his _third_ application of shampoo, rubbing it onto his scalp and letting the water get rid of the lather. He shut off the water, and stepped out of the shower, walking into the bathroom of his room in the Nimbasa City Pokemon Center.

Nimbasa City, as far as he could see, put far more effort into entertainment than Castelia. That wasn't to say there wasn't plenty to do in Castelia- he was sure he hadn't even scratched the surface of that place before leaving- but Nimbasa seemed to have more in the way of activities. There were movie theaters, a massive amusement park off to the east, hell, he'd even passed a few strip clubs on his way to the Pokemon Center. There were also several sports stadiums to the north, and a place called the Battle Subway, though Hilbert wasn't sure he ever go there.

As he got changed into his still-filthy clothes and walked to the dry-cleaning floor, he thought of the way he had snapped at Juniper. Sure, lashing out like he had was a dick move, but then again, he figured he had a right to be angry after going through all he had. Juniper's irritating persistence to get him to work on the Pokedex (which he had previously stated he wouldn't), his mood, and her sheer... _naivete,_ had all unleashed the flood gates. Besides that, he really didn't regret doing so.

After washing his clothes yet again and getting proper breakfast, he exited the Pokemon Center. He looked down at his belt, noticing the empty space where a sixth Poke Ball was supposed to go. Remembering what Juniper had said about the Desert Resort earlier, he looked south. _Is it even worth it?_ He thought. _Should I go on?_ Then he reasoned with himself that he really didn't have much of a choice. What would he do if he went back to Nuvema? Live with his mother for the rest of his life? No, this journey was the chance to make something of himself- for everyone to make something of themselves.

However, he then remembered something. It was time to get his stitches removed. It had been more than ten days since he'd gotten them, and taking off his jacket and removing the bandages, he was relieved to see there was no sign of infection. Still, he couldn't put off getting them taken out any longer. With an sigh of annoyance, he went back into the Center.

Getting the stitches taken out wasn't a long process, but it was somewhat painful. However, due to his procrastination in getting them out, he was left with an ugly crisscrossing scar on his arm. A railroad-track scar, the doctors had said. Hilbert could only curse his own forgetfulness.

Now ready to move on, or rather backtrack, he headed out of Nimbasa, re-entering Route 4. This time, he took the path through the canyon to the west, trekking through unpaved paths that were nothing but sand. Soon, he came across another gate nestled between the rock walls, with a sign out front.

 **'Desert Resort ahead.'** The text on the sign read. **'It's nicer than your average desert!'**

"Well, this is the place," Hilbert said to himself. "Nothing left to do but go in." He walked through the gate, and entered into the seaside desert plains.

 _Nicer than your average desert._ Hilbert thought. He didn't dare part his lips lest he get a mouthful of sand. _NICER THAN YOUR AVERGE DESERT. My fuckin'_ ass _it is!_

In a word, the Desert Resort _sucked._ Or rather, in Hilbert's opinion, it _blew_ , just like the constant wind that assaulted anyone who dared set foot in its sands. And he thought the wind on Route 4 was bad... it was nothing compared to this. Luckily, he had been given the Blackglasses, a pair of sunglasses that increased the power of Dark-type moves when held by a Pokemon, almost as soon as he entered this hellscape. He was currently _wearing_ said item, in an effort to avoid getting his eyes sandblasted out of his skull. The fast wind brought with it whirling grains of sand, battering any person or Pokemon foolish enough to come here without protection.

However, by some miracle, several Pokemon made their home here. The cactus-like Grass-type Maractus slowly shuffled along through the sands, making its signature maraca-like noise as it did so. However, it was not immune to sandstorm damage, so finding fainted ones wasn't all that uncommon. What _was_ immune to sandstorm damage (albeit only due to its ability) was the alien-looking Psychic/Flying-type Sigilyph. These Magic Guard ability equipped Pokemon were the apparent guardians of the ancient city that the Desert Resort had once housed. Now, though, they simply drifted along on the sandy winds, protecting ruins from a time long gone by.

It was these ruins Hilbert sought. Once, he thought he saw something green whipping in the wind, out in the distance, but dismissed it as nothing, possibly a Maractus on a sand dune. Some Trainers were crazy or just plain suicidal enough to try and train out in these wastes, but Hilbert avoided them all like the plague. He had no desire to pick a fight with anybody that insane.

He continued trudging through the ankle-deep sand, the wind battling him every step of the way. According to some signs in the gate, the ancient ruins he was looking for was somewhere near the centre of the of the Resort, but the sandy terrain was so huge, he had no idea where the centre was. On top of that, the windswept sand obscured his vision massively, and the sand was becoming trapped in his clothes, making the trek miserable.

Perhaps a higher vantage point would be advantageous, he thought. He trudged to the top of a nearby sand dune, surveying the surrounding area as best he could. He thought he saw some indistinct blue shapes about fifty feet away to the northeast, so he did his best to head in that direction, trying to keep the blue shapes in view. As he got closer, the blue shapes got clearer. It turned out they were statues of some sort of Pokemon, placed in a very rough arrow shape around a downwards-leading stairway.

 _This has to be it,_ Hilbert thought. He descended the stairway, entering into an underground chamber of sorts. The floor was made of sand, and there were what looked like sinkholes in places, curtailed off with caution tape. Hilbert took his cap off to shake the sand out of his hair, and removed the Blackglasses from his face.

Aside from a few tourists inspecting old paintings and carvings on the walls, he was alone in the chamber. However, he looked up, and his face paled. Floating above him, were nearly a dozen Ghost-types called Yamask. Yamask were black, shadowy creatures with vaguely bird-like heads/bodies, large red eyes, two arms, and a hook-like tail that held their most defining feature: a mask that, according to legend, was once a human face.

Hilbert quickly looked away from the Yamask swarm (he had never particularly liked Ghost-types), making his way to the west end of the chamber. Turning a corner, he heard a feminine groan. The source of the groan, he saw, was a woman wearing a huge red backpack, slumped against a wall.

"What's wrong?" Hilbert asked. "You hurt?"

"N-no," the woman replied, breathing heavily. "Just... tired. I found two Pokemon fossils out in the desert, but... they're so heavy. Together with all this other gear I've got in this bag... it's just too much. Can you do me a massive favour? I need someone to take one of these off my hands. I might be good then..."

"Alright..." Hilbert said tentatively, wondering why he suddenly got roped into this. "Can I see what I'm choosing between, at least?"

"Sure," the woman answered, pulling two rocks as large as Hilbert's hat out of her backpack, placing them on the sandy floor. One was the fossilized remains of what looked like a shell of sorts, while the other had a feather shape- almost like an arrowhead- permanently embossed into its surface.

Hilbert considered the two for a moment, finally pointing to the fossil with the arrowhead shape. "I'll take that one," he said.

"Okay," the woman said, handing the fossil over to Hilbert. He took it, and immediately began struggling with its weight.

"What does this thing weigh, like thirty fuckin' pounds!?" he cried. He quickly put it down on the sand.

"Now you know why I wanted to get rid of one of those," the woman said. "Wait, you're a Trainer, right? You can take that fossil to the Nacrene City Museum and get it revived there. Oh, and I also found this out in the desert. I'm not a Trainer, so you can take it. No idea what it was doing out in the sand, but whatever."

She reached into her backpack and pulled out a TM. She passed it to Hilbert, who scanned it with his Pokedex to find out what it was. "TM39, Rock Tomb," Hilbert said. "50 base power, 80% accuracy. Not bad." He put the TM in his bag, then, struggling again with the fossil, put it away as well. However, the flap didn't close, and if the fossil were to fall out at any point...

 _Looks like I gotta get rid of some things,_ he thought. Sighing, he took out the ten Ultra Balls Juniper had given him, and tossed them all into the sand.

"You can have those if you want," he said to the woman. "Was planning on selling those things, but I guess that's not an option anymore."

The woman only nodded as he once again put the fossil away. This time, the bag's flap did close- but only just, and the prehistoric rock made a sizeable bulge in the bag. The weight was apparent instantly. The bag's shoulder strap dug deeply into Hilbert's skin, even through the fabric of his jacket, and the weight made him lean to the right slightly.

"Hope that fossil gets revived into something useful," the woman said. "See ya."

"Yeah, thanks," Hilbert said, his voice strained with effort. "Bye."

He made his way out of the ruins, into the harsh wind once more, putting the Blackglasses on again. _Is it just me, or is the wind actually worse?_ he thought.

With the additional weight of the fossil in his bag, Hilbert's feet sunk even deeper into the sand with each step, nearly to his shins. On top of that, the sun was now setting, and he knew that if he got caught out here at night, he would be royally screwed, and the wild Pokemon would be the least of his problems.

In spite of all this, he trudged onwards, his quadriceps screaming at him. He was _not_ used to carrying so much weight, and he was feeling the burn of doing so. Eventually, exhausted and sweaty, he found his way back to the gate, shaking a beach's worth of sand out of his clothes and shoes. He took his bag off his shoulder to give it a break and massaged it, then went back to Nimbasa.

The sun had set and night was upon the city as he re-checked himself into the Pokemon Center for the night. He would begin his long trek back to Nacrene in the morning.

The heat of the sun beat down on Hilbert's face as he staggered back to Castelia, his breathing heavy and his shoulder killing him. It was the day before the start of April, but there was no rain to be found on Route 4. He had foregone washing his clothes, trading hygiene for getting back to Castelia in a timely manner. He constantly shrugged and moved his shoulder, trying to alleviate the discomfort that the weight of the fossil was causing him- to no effect. His legs were crying out for rest, but he ignored them, merely continuing onward.

When Hilbert reached the suburbs of Castelia, he was cautious and careful to avoid going through rougher areas, and kept a close eye on the look of the houses. If they seemed reasonably big and expensive, great, if not, he stayed far away. After a combined six full hours of walking through Route 4 and the suburbs, he finally made it back into Castelia. As he rode a cab to the Pokemon Center, he was looking forward to taking a shower and cleaning himself of all the dirt and grime that had accumulated on his body, but as he arrived, the sight of orange traffic cones came into view, as well as men in hardhats overseeing an Excadrill digging up pavement.

"Oh, you have got to be _shitting_ me!" he hissed as the cab stopped to let him out. Asking around what was going on, it turned out a water main had broken down, water had been shut off to the Pokemon Center, and it wouldn't be fixed for the next two days! Growling and cursing under his breath, the boy walked into the Pokemon Center, booked a room, and took the elevator up to it. Once inside, he dropped his heavy bag to the floor, and fell back on the bed. "Why is this happening to me?" he snarled up at the ceiling. "Why, why, dammit, _why?"_

Exhausted and needing rest after his arduous trip through the desert, he stood up, stripped down to his underwear (releasing large amounts of sand trapped in his clothes as he did so), got under the covers, and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, all the way back in Nimbasa, Ghetsis had just finished giving another one of his speeches. This one, he beamed as he reflected on it, had been a complete success. People actually had released their Pokemon by the dozens, feeling the shame his words had brought them.

 _Overall, everything is going as planned,_ he smirked. 'Overall' was the key word, though. There had been several times where things almost went Aspear Berry-shaped, namely, the near-capture of Gorm in Pinwheel Forest, and those foolish grunts leading those children and the Gym Leaders right to their hideout in Castelia...

However, one of those children had been in both those instances... the one in the blue jacket, Hilbert, as N had told him. _Perhaps it's time to teach him a lesson on the power of Team Plasma,_ Ghetsis thought. Ducking into an alleyway, he dialled N's Cross-Transceiver number.

N picked up after a few rings, his face appearing on the screen. "Yes? Who is this?" he asked. Ghetsis intentionally used a modified Cross-Transceiver, so he could see who he was calling, but they couldn't see _him._

"This is Ghetsis," he answered. "I have a task for you, N. An important one. It concerns that boy, Hilbert."

"And what about him?" N said.

"It's come to my understanding you've fought him several times, and that he is trying to interfere with Team Plasma's glorious plan of Pokemon Liberation. I want you to stay in Nimbasa for a little longer, until he returns. Our spies have told me he is headed south, towards Nacrene, but he will be back. He will have to be, if he wants to get his pathetic little Badge from Nimbasa's Gym Leader. When he does return, I want you to find him, and teach him exactly what happens when someone tries to get in the way of progress. In other words, break him. Utterly. Use any method necessary."

N thought for a moment. "He is strong in battle, and I've lost to him twice now-"

" _Any methods_ _necessary, N_ ," Ghetsis said firmly. "Do I make myself clear?"

N flinched a bit, finally replying, "...Yes. It will be done."

Even though he knew N couldn't see him, Ghetsis grinned. "Excellent." With that, he terminated the call.

On the other side of the city, in the amusement park near the ferris wheel called the Rondez-View, N closed his eyes, steeling his conviction. He brushed a hand over the four Poke Balls on his belt. _I'm sorry that I trapped you, my friends,_ he thought. _But it was for my own protection in that desert. I must accomplish the task I was just given, so you must fight for me, if only this once._

Opening his eyes, N whispered to no one, "I won't let you down. You can count on me... father."

The next morning, Hilbert awoke. He ran a hand through his hair, finding it to be extremely greasy. Some of the remaining sand fell out from the dirty, matted strands of hair as he rubbed his scalp a little more. He felt (and was) filthy. He got out of the bed, able to smell his own body odour, and got dressed into his wrinkled, smelly clothes. "Ughnn.." he moaned.

Taking the elevator downstairs, he had breakfast, trying to ignore the whispered comments from people about his scruffy appearance and bad smell. He would have to wait until Nacrene, a day-and-a-half away, to take a shower and wash his clothes. "Whatever Pokemon this is had better be worth it," he growled to himself as he stocked up on snacks and filled his water bottle for the trip.

Nearly two leg-aching days of walking later, he finally got back to Nacrene. Anxious to rid himself of the fossil's weight first thing, he went straight to the Museum. He pushed open the glass doors, and made a beeline for the desk on the right, heaving his bag up onto it with a _clunk._ The woman behind the desk's eyes widened as she saw the massive bulge in Hilbert's bag.

"Is that..? Did you find..?" she asked in awe.

"Yeah, I did, it's fuckin' heavy, and I've been lugging it here for _three days!"_ Hilbert snapped. "So, if you'd kindly take this off my hands, and revive it into whatever Pokemon it once was, I'd appreciate it." The last sentence was said with gritted teeth and barely suppressed rage, making the woman take a step back.

"Okay, I will," she said. "No need to get angry about it." She took the fossil out of Hilbert's bag, taking it into her arms. "This might take a while, so go kill time, and maybe take a shower while you're at it. You smell horrible. I'll call you on your Cross-Transceiver when it's ready."

Growling under his breath, Hilbert left the Museum to finally take a shower and wash his clothes.

"Never thought I'd be so grateful for one of these," Hilbert said, stepping into the shower and turning the water on. He applied no less than _five_ handfuls of shampoo to his hair, with a more than necessary amount of conditioner, as well. He let the warm water run over his bare skin, letting it massage his aching shoulder. His legs, after so long carrying so much weight, were shaky and weak, so he sunk down to the floor, just letting the water wrap him in a warm embrace. Finally, he shut off the water, dried himself, and went to the dry-cleaning floor to wash his clothes.

After _that_ was done, he went down to the main lobby of the Center, sitting down at a table and eating a sandwich from his bag. The nurse turned on the TV mounted on the wall, changed it to the news, and promptly gasped in shock. Hilbert's head snapped up at the audible exclamation from the nurse, looked at the TV as well, and his eyes widened in horror.

There, on the TV, captured in HD quality, was a massive sandstorm raging in the outer edges of the suburbs in Castelia City. "Oh my Arceus..." Hilbert breathed.

The news anchor began talking. "As you can see, a huge sandstorm has descended onto Route 4," she said. "Meteorologists are calling it the worst sandstorm in the last fifty years. Anyone in the area of the Castelia suburbs is being told to stay inside at all times until this ends, and anyone caught on the Route itself or in the Desert Resort is advised to seek immediate shelter. We currently have a crew on the ground in Castelia, live on the scene. What's it like there, Michael?"

The scene then cut to a man with a microphone on the sidewalks near the entrance to the suburbs. Even there, the sand and wind looked vicious, blowing his clothes and hair around.

"This is the worst sandstorm I've ever seen, Christina!" he shouted above the wind in answer to his colleague's question. "The wind is just unbelievable here! If I'm being frank, I don't think anyone out in the open on Route 4 has a very good chance of survival, and I really feel sorry for those poor souls in the suburbs!"

The man kept talking, but Hilbert was deaf to it all. His last sentence kept repeating in his mind, over and over and over again, like a skipping CD. A horrifying realization came to him then. "Cheren and Bianca... Oh, no."

The last time he'd seen Cheren, he was near the exit to Route 4, and Bianca, as far as he knew, could just be crossing it. _They could be right in the middle of the sandstorm!_

Hilbert immediately turned on his Cross-Transceiver, dialling Cheren's number as fast as he could. "Hurry up, Cheren, pick up _now!"_ Hilbert snarled.

Back in Nimbasa, Cheren was walking toward the Gym, located in the amusement park, when his Cross-Transceiver started ringing. He looked at the screen, seeing it was Hilbert's number. "Sorry, Cheren can't come to the phone right now, leave a message after the call denial," Cheren said, bitter sarcasm lacing his voice. He powered the device all the way off. He kept walking towards the Gym. Hopefully the Leader would accept still challengers with that sandstorm.

Hilbert slammed his fist down on the table when Cheren didn't pick up. Dialling Bianca's number, he was met with the same result. "Arceus dammit!" he cried. What he didn't realize, however is was Bianca had left her Cross-Transceiver in her bag on mute, and so hadn't heard his urgent call. Springing to his feet, Hilbert raced over to the Poke Mart counter, bought some food, and had the nurse at the main counter heal his Pokemon, just in case.

He then ran out of the Pokemon Center, ignoring the pain of his stiff legs as he made a beeline for the Museum. Whether the fossil Pokemon was ready or not, he needed it _now._ As luck would have have it, his Cross-Transceiver started ringing as he neared the white building, but he ignored the call, pulling open the doors and running right for the desk.

He skidded to a stop before a painful collision with the marble edge of the desk could occur. He breathed heavily, which was uncharacteristic of him lately because of his shoes. With a jolt, he realized his Cross-Transceiver was still ringing, so he dismissed the call. The woman at the desk came out of the room where fossils were presumably revived, holding a Poke Ball.

"Well, you got here right on time," she said. She placed the Poke Ball into Hilbert's waiting palm. "This is Archen, the First Bird Pokemon. Take good care of it!"

"Thanks," Hilbert said, placing the Poke Ball on his belt. Without another word, he exited the Museum. Not wasting any more time, he headed out of Nacrene City. He had to get to Route 4 as soon as possible.

While on the road, he winced with every step. His legs were incredibly stiff after all that continuous walking carrying so much weight. Nonetheless, he had to check out his new Pokemon's stats. Bringing out his Pokedex, he looked at Archen's stats. Seeing its attack stat, his eyes widened.

"Holy crap..." he said in awe, "Base 112 attack on an unevolved Pokemon? I've hit the damn jackpot."

On top of that, he saw the Archen was level 25, making it the highest-levelled Pokemon on his team, though not by much. It knew the moves Pluck, AncientPower, Agility, and Quick Guard.

However, as he continued to scroll down, he found out that he may not have hit the jackpot like he initially thought he had. It turned out that Archen only had pathetic base 45 defences, the same as his Darumaka, and on top of that...

"Wait... its ability is called 'Defeatist!?'" Hilbert yelled. "Lowers attack and special attack by _half_ if the Pokemon's health falls below 50%... _Fuck."_

Ripping the Archen's Poke Ball off his belt, he let out the First Bird Pokemon, illegality of doing so be damned. Archen was a strange, primary-coloured creature that bore mixed reptile and bird traits. Its wings were yellow and too small to grant it flight, with two claws on either end of them. Its head was red and scaly, and it looked at him with curious, wide eyes that had no irises.

"Alright, Archen," Hilbert said sternly, squatting down to its level. "I went through a lot of shit to revive you, and you don't look like you have the greatest ability. Still, I'm willing to give you a chance. But you better not let me down, got it? By the way, I'm calling you Artemis from now on."

The Archen squawked happily, Hilbert returning her to her Poke Ball. Reattaching the Poke Ball to his belt, Hilbert stood up, and kept going on the long trek back to Castelia City, trying to ignore the dull pain in his legs. He had switched his bag over to his other shoulder, in order to give his still-sore one a rest.

After nearly two more days of walking, he arrived once again at the Skyarrow Bridge when it was nearing dusk. If Hilbert thought things were a zoo before, they were an absolute _circus_ now _._ He had noticed the line of cars about two kilometres before he got to the bridge checkpoint, which itself was packed to the rafters with people. It took nearly an hour of waiting before he was finally allowed through. The sandstorm had apparently done very significant damage to transport between Castelia and Nimbasa, and he heard Burgh had closed the Gym temporarily to try and sort out the mess.

Getting to the Pokemon Center, Hilbert was greeted with more bad news. Due to the influx of stranded Trainers, it was full to the point where people were literally lined up outside the doors. In fact, a lot of the hotels in the area were fully booked as well.

By now, it was getting darker, and the chill of the early-April air was starting to set in along with the night. It took a lot of searching, but as it was nearing ten o'clock at night, in a somewhat shady-looking part of the city, Hilbert found a hotel that had empty rooms. Cold, tired, and hungry, the desperate boy checked into a room there, but not without getting some odd looks from the people inside, who were not used to seeing a minor in the building.

He made sure to sleep in his clothes that night, and kept Maru's Poke Ball close at hand, just in case.

Hilbert awoke the next morning after a not-very-restful sleep, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his head in his hands. He grabbed his Cross-Transceiver off the nightstand next to the bed. Maybe, he thought, it was time for a bit of reassurance, from the only person he knew could give him some... his mother. Dialling his mother's number, the Cross-Transceiver ringed a few times before it was answered.

"Oh! Oh, sweetheart, you're okay!" Julia Touya said as she saw her son's face on the screen of her Cross-Transceiver. "When I heard the news about the sandstorm, I thought... I was so worried..."

Hilbert gave her a weary smile. "...Hi, Mom," he said. "You don't need to worry, I'm fine, just a bit worse for the wear."

His mother gave him a concerned look. "Really? How so?"

"Oh... it's, uh..." Hilbert stuttered a bit, caught on the spot. He couldn't very well tell his mother about _all_ the crap he'd been through so far, she'd flip! Then he decided to only tell her about only the events of the last few days, keeping the things like almost getting captured by Team Plasma- and Team Plasma _in general-_ a secret.

"It's just... it's been a rough last few days. I was on Route 4, found a Pokemon fossil, and had to lug it all the way back to Nacrene to revive it- all the way without being able to take a shower, might I add." He chuckled without any humour in it. "I don't think I've ever felt so filthy in my life. Anyways, then I heard the news about the sandstorm, and hauled ass back to Castelia. And that pretty much brings us to now."

"I think I know why you called then," his mother said. "Needed somebody to talk to? Some motherly comfort?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, just know, no matter what, I'm rooting for you, honey. Just stay safe. If ever you need to talk again, just call me. I love you."

Hilbert's eyes misted with tears. "Love you, too."

His mother terminated the call, Hilbert shutting off the Cross-Transceiver. Once again, Hilbert put his head in his hands, sliding them down his face. "Well, nothing left to do but get going, I guess," he said to himself.

He slung his bag over his shoulder, put on his Poke Ball belt, and after a quick breakfast, checked out of the hotel. It was time to get to Route 4. He caught a cab to take him to the suburb entrance, but it only took him within three blocks.

"Everything beyond this point is closed to vehicle traffic," the driver said. "I hate to drop you off so far from where ya wanted to go, but there's nothing I can do. You're kinda on your own."

"That's okay, I guess," Hilbert replied, paying for his ride and exiting the cab. "Thanks."

The closer he got to the gate, the more evidence of the sandstorm's leftover damage he could see. Although the sand had been mostly cleaned up, there were still small patches of it everywhere, and within a block, he could see that windows of buildings were broken all over the place. Some were up as high as three stories.

Entering the suburbs themselves, the only words that could be uttered were, "Holy shit," so Hilbert said them. Obviously the cleanup was nowhere near done, as sand dunes- some as tall as five feet- littered the ground. People out on their driveways used brooms to sweep off the sand. Just like the entrance, the farther he walked in, the worse it got. Workers meandered around, using industrial-strength leafblowers and Pokemon alike to get rid of the sand. Roofs missing shingles were common sights, and in more than a few terrible cases, had been torn off the house completely.

All this was nothing in comparison to Route 4, however. The road had been totally covered by the storm, leaving bumpy, uneven sand dunes, some ten feet tall. Unlike the suburbs, there were no words to be said. Hilbert was at a loss.

As he trekked further into the sandy wasteland, going in what he hoped was a northerly direction (without the road, it was somewhat hard to tell), he called out for his friends.

" _Cheren! Bianca!"_

All that returned to him, though, was the echo of his own voice.

He continued like this, climbing up or walking around the all-too-frequent dunes for the next five hours, the aforementioned dunes slowing him down. All this activity on leg muscles that were still sore and stiff was agony, but he pressed on. He was just reaching the somewhat more level ground of the construction site when his foot caught on something, tripping him. He landed hard on his sore shoulder, wrenching a cry of pain from his mouth. He pushed himself to his knees, looking behind him to see what had tripped him up... and let out a horrified noise.

He had tripped on a dead body. His foot had jostled it, uncovering the head, which stared at him with a glassy gaze.

"Oh my Arceus, holy shit, holy _shit-!"_ he gasped as he scrambled backwards. His first instinct was to get the hell away as fast as he possibly could. However, morbid curiosity led him to take a cautious yet disgusted closer look.

The first thing he noticed was that the corpse looked rather familiar, like he had seen this person somewhere before. Then he realized where.

"This is that gang leader..." he whispered to himself. "The one Maru cut the hand off of..."

He looked at his immediate surroundings, noticing, with another terrified gasp, there were several lumps in the sand around him, too small to be dunes. Presumably, the gang leader and his cronies had gotten caught in the sandstorm, and met their end in it.

Hilbert swallowed thickly, getting to his feet. A small part of him was glad Karma had intervened and delivered justice in the form of nature's wrath, but another, larger part didn't know what to feel. Without a word, he began walking, leaving the former gang members in their sandy tombs, continuing on to Nimbasa City. Deep down, though, he knew the image of finding this unintended mass grave would haunt him for the rest of his life.


	18. Chapter 16: Viva Las Nimbasa! Or Not

**A/N: What's this? Two whole chapters in a row? Yes, that's right, admittedly I didn't really have a plan for this chapter, so I decided to hold off on posting anything until I got it written. That means y'all get a double dose of me! So you're either lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it.**

* * *

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 16: Viva Las Nimbasa! Or Not...

It was approaching dusk as Hilbert finally entered into Nimbasa for the second time. The sandstorm had stranded a lot of people in Nimbasa, too, as the Pokemon Center was fully booked. Sighing, Hilbert set out to find somewhere he could stay. Hopefully he wouldn't be in Nimbasa too long. As he searched, a jolt of pain being sent through his legs with every step, the image of the corpse he'd found on Route 4 kept popping up in his mind, like a guest at a party the host _really_ didn't want to be there. He shook his head to try and clear it. _Look on the bright side, Hilbert,_ he thought, _That could have been Cheren or Bianca, and it wasn't. No news is good news, right?_

"Gah!" he let out an exclamation of surprise as his Cross-Transceiver began ringing. He stopped dead in his tracks, practically throwing his arm up to his face, and saw it was Bianca's number. "Oh, thank Arecus," Hilbert breathed in relief, pressing the 'accept call' button. Bianca's face appeared on screen. From the way her screen bobbed up and down, she was walking somewhere.

"Hi, Hilbert!" she greeted cheerfully. "Where have you-"

"Bianca. Damn, am I glad to see you." Hilbert said, cutting her off. "Where are you? Why didn't you answer my call two days ago, when the sandstorm hit?"

"Bianca looked puzzled. "Wait... you called then? I mean, I heard about the sandstorm and all that, but I didn't know you called."

Hilbert suddenly had a very intense urge to pound nails into his eyes in sheer exasperation. _"Of course_ I called, Bianca!" he exploded. "The last I heard of you, you were in Castelia still, and very realistically could have been crossing Route 4 when that sandstorm hit! _Why_ didn't you answer my call!? You could have been dead for all I knew!"

"Well, sorry for making a mistake!" Bianca shot back. "I probably had it turned off or something! It's not my fault these things don't have a call history feature!"

"Just tell me where you are," Hilbert growled.

"I'm near the Musical Theatre," Bianca said. At Hilbert's quizzical look, she elaborated. "Yeah, they hold musicals with Pokemon in them! Haven't you heard? Oh, wait, no, you couldn't have, because you were off who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what. Meanwhile, _I_ was checking out the city. Speaking of which, where were you, anyway?"

"Reviving a fossil Pokemon I found in the Desert Resort back in Nacrene," Hilbert said. "Getting there and back again sucked, by the way. _Really_ sucked."

At those words, the image of the dead gang leader flashed through his head again, causing Hilbert to close his eyes and grimace. Bianca wasn't blind to this.

"Hilbert? What's going on with you? You seem really stressed, and you made this weird face just now. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Bianca, I'm fine," Hilbert said, forcing a smile, but couldn't hide the strain in his voice.

"You don't sound-"

"I'm _fine,_ Bianca," he said more sternly. "Just... please don't pressure me on this."

"Well fine, don't tell me." Bianca turned up her nose at him. "Where are _you_? You didn't answer me last time."

"You want an honest answer? I don't know. All the rooms in the Pokemon Center were booked, so I'm kinda just trying to find a hotel or something."

"Did you check the pamphlets inside the Pokemon Center?" Bianca asked. "Y'know, the ones on the rack against the far wall? They have a list of things for tourists to do- and there's a _lot_ here, trust me- so I'm sure they have ones that list hotels."

Hilbert just groaned. No, he had not thought of that. He turned around and began walking back to the Pokemon Center. "Yeah, I guess I could do that," he said. He was about to shut off the Cross-Transceiver, but Bianca's voice stopped him.

"Say... Hilbert, I hear they're holding a musical tonight. Do you want to come? Maybe it'll take your mind off whatever's bothering you."

 _I kinda doubt it,_ Hilbert thought, but said, "Maybe, after I find a hotel. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye."

The connection was terminated, Hilbert walking into the Pokemon Center two minutes later. Spotting the rack of pamphlets, he walked over to them, scanning the selection with his eyes. He found the shelf that listed most of the hotels in the city within seconds, and grabbed one of the paper guides.

"Now, let's see here," he muttered as he walked out of the Pokemon Center, "Where's a hotel in my price range..?"

After about a minute of looking over the piece of unfolded paper, he found something he could afford, in the city's west-centre area, nestled between many condominiums. _Let's hope they have rooms available,_ he thought, catching a cab to take him there. Thankfully, they did have a few vacant rooms, so Hilbert checked in, taking the elevator up to the 6th floor, where his room was located.

The place wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible, either. It had a few more complimentary things than a Pokemon Center room, like a mini fridge stocked with water bottles, but that was about it. Hilbert sat down on the bed, thinking about Bianca's offer.

Deciding to leave it up to a vote, he let out all of his Pokemon. "Okay, guys, we're gonna have a bit of a vote," he said. "All who want to go to the Pokemon Musical, speak up. All opposed, keep quiet. So, who wants to go?"

All of his Pokemon let out excited cries, effectively a resounding 'yes'. Giving a weary smile, Hilbert nodded. "Okay then, musical it is."

He returned all his Pokemon to their Poke Balls, exited the hotel, and caught a cab to the city's north end, where the Musical Theatre was. During his ride, Bianca called again, sounding urgent. "Hilbert, where are you?" she asked frantically. "The musical starts in _fifteen minutes,_ I've already bought your ticket, and I don't want it to go to waste!"

"Relax, Bianca, I'm on my way," Hilbert said. "I'll be there soon, so just wait as long as you can for me."

Within ten minutes, the cab had taken him to the Musical Theatre, a big, colourful building adjacent to the Small Court and Big Stadium. He found Bianca pacing in a panicked manner outside the doors, and after a bit of berating from her for being late, they went inside, finding their seats in the theatre with minutes to spare. Bianca had actually gotten fairly lucky when she bought the tickets, as their seats were in the third row from the front, off to the right.

However, Hilbert couldn't help but notice the rather melancholy atmosphere inside the theatre. People were talking in hushed tones, and once or twice he caught snippets of these conversations, hearing words that sounded like "sandstorm", and "dead". The boy couldn't help but start to feel uneasy, a feeling that was amplified as a man walked on stage, a solemn look on his face.

"Good evening, everyone," the man said. "In light of the recent tragedy of that sandstorm- one of the deadliest Unova has ever seen- Miss Elesa herself has commissioned this special production in honour of all thirty-eight of those who lost their lives."

Hilbert's eyes widened in horror, and Bianca gave an audible gasp beside him. Thirty-eight. _Thirty-eight people._ While he had expected the body count to be high, he never thought _that_ would have been the outcome.

"Miss Elesa has informed me she would like to say a few words," the man continued, walking offstage. A woman dressed in yellow took his place, but Hilbert was still too shocked to care about getting a good look at her. The woman- Elesa, apparently- took a microphone off her belt, beginning to speak into it.

"Hello, everyone," she said simply. "Normally, this place is for celebrating a more leisurely side of life, but not today. Today, we remember those who have had their lives cut short by tragic happenstance." She sighed sadly before continuing. "They say Nimbasa is the city where the lights never go out. However, that's not strictly true. A city has light only so long as there are people to live in it, and more than a few of those people have had the lights known as their lives extinguished forever. To me, Nimbasa seems a tiny bit dimmer tonight. Thought the ones who died are gone, they are not forgotten, and the performance you are about to see tonight will serve as tribute, and remembrance."

Elesa exited the stage to polite applause, and the Pokemon took their positions as a slow, sombre jazz track began to play.

During the musical's forty-five minute runtime (short for musical standards, but this one had been put together in somewhat of a rush) Hilbert took some time to reflect on things. He thought of just how easily Bianca could have been among those killed, likely avoiding death only due to dumb luck, and how much nature ultimately controlled things. It was as Blue, the Gym Leader of Viridian City in Kanto, and Red's former arch-rival, said: "We can go on winning and losing at Pokemon, but if nature so much as twitches, we can be overwhelmed in a second... That's just the way it is..."

 _Just like those sandstorm victims..._ Hilbert thought sadly. He knew first-hand from stumbling across those corpses just how deadly the desert of Route 4 could be when it showed its dark side, and while the gang members most likely weren't _innocent,_ per se, there were probably plenty of people who _were_ , and now they were gone.

Needless to say, Hilbert and Bianca left the theatre feeling very sombre. "Makes you think, doesn't it?" Bianca said after a minute or so of silence.

"Yeah, it really does," Hilbert said quietly. "Hey, Bianca?"

"Yes?"

This is probably gonna be hard for you to hear, so brace yourself-"

"Bianca!"

Another voice suddenly called out, cutting Hilbert off. A voice Bianca knew all too well. "Oh, no..." she whispered as her father ran up to her.

"Bianca... thank Arceus I've managed to find you..." he said, relief flooding his tone. It then became more strict, his posture more commanding. "It's time to come home. You've gone far enough."

"W-why!?" Bianca cried. "Why now, after all this time and everything I've been through?"

"'Everything you've been through' is exactly why I need you to come with me, Bianca!" her father said. "When your mother told me about the sandstorm... when she told me you were in the general area of Route 4..."

"But _I'm fine!"_ Bianca cried. "You can see that!" She took her badge case out of her purse, opening it. "See? I've even won these! I can-"

" _I don't give half a damn about those!"_ her father suddenly yelled, cutting Bianca off and making her flinch. "The fact is, _you could have been killed!_ Badges don't- and never have- made a difference to nature! You could have all eight Unova Badges, and that sandstorm _still_ would have killed you!"

"But..." Bianca whimpered. She turned to Hilbert. "Back me up, please?"

Hilbert sighed, which only seemed to further dampen Bianca's hopes. Bracing himself to crush her, he said, "Honestly, Bianca... I think you should go with him."

Instantly, Bianca's expression twisted into one of pure betrayed hurt. _"...What?"_ she whimpered in a tiny voice.

"Face facts, Bianca, he's right. Hell, even _I'm_ starting to consider giving up on this journey. Before the sandstorm I thought differently, but after seeing what it did..." he trailed off, the dead faces flashing through his mind again.

Bianca's eyes were filling up with tears. She looked back at her father, but all she found was a stern look of disapproval. Hilbert wore a different expression on his face: that of cold apathy.

" _Please..."_ she whimpered. "I've won these Badges... that should be all the proof you need..."

"Badges mean nothing if you can't protect your Pokemon, Bianca," Hilbert shot back harshly. At Bianca's father's raised eyebrow, he explained, "She caught a Munna, and it got stolen in Castelia City. We got it back, but that doesn't change the fact that it was in the first place."

Bianca was utterly shocked. _H-how could he do this to me..?_ she thought. _We've been friends our whole lives, I thought_ he _of all people wouldn't throw me under the bus!_

The poor girl was beyond distraught. Her journey, the one chance she had to find out what she wanted to do with her life, was quickly slipping away, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Seeing an opening, Bianca's father put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I think it's time to go, Bianca. Come on." He started to lead her away.

"Dad, no... please..." Bianca said weakly.

Just then, there was a large commotion at the entrance to the theatre, and a large crowd began gathering as Elesa walked out. However, her sharp eyes picked up on the man leading a resisting girl away from the scene- a girl with an open Gym Badge case.

With a confident stride, she walked over, cutting through the crowd. "May I ask what is going on here?" Her aqua-blue eyes were narrowed, full of scrutiny.

Hilbert turned to look at the newcomer, and his eyes instantly widened. While in the theatre he hadn't really cared enough to get a good look at her, in person Elesa was-! Long, black tight-covered legs that seemed to on for miles ended in sharp yellow stilettos. As for what she was wearing, it was a barely-there yellow tank top with sections cut out of its black centre, revealing skin. The most unusual part of her ensemble was what appeared to be headphones, the kind worn over the ears, with two wires extending down almost to her ankles, like absurdly long pigtails, were worn on her head of yellow-blond hair. In a word, she was _hot._

Bianca's father, being a married man, was not as easily impressed. "What's going on is none of your business," he grumbled. "Let's go, Bianca."

Elesa's eyes flashed with anger, a small crowd now starting to gather.

"Is that so?" She pulled a Poke Ball off her waist, and clicked the centre button twice. In a flash of light, a zebra-like Pokemon appeared. It had white lightning bolt-like patterns decorating its black fur coat, and it had a wild mane of white fur running down the length of its back.

"Now, you can tell me what's happening, and why, or Zebstrika can Double Kick you out of town. Your choice."

Bianca's father did not back down, not bending to Elesa's attempted intimidation tactics. "I'm not looking for a fight here. But if you want one, I'll be happy to give it to you." He pulled a Poke Ball out of a bag slung over his shoulder.

Bianca was stunned. _So, he didn't want me to go on a Pokemon journey, yet he has Pokemon!?_ Bianca thought. _The hypocrite!_

Elesa just smirked. "Oh, please, do you know who I am? I'm this city's top model, _and_ its Gym Leader. This Zebstrika I have here is the strongest one I own. So unless your Pokemon- or _you-_ actually enjoy getting zapped with Volt Switch, you'll tell me what's going on."

Bianca's father actually took a step back, grimacing, but said nothing.

Clearly out of patience, Elesa just waved her hand dismissively. "Fair enough. Zebstrika, use-!"

"Wait!" Bianca yelled. "Just... wait. I'll explain things."

Elesa held up a hand, stopping the Thunderbolt Pokemon from unleashing a Volt Switch attack. "Go ahead, sweetie. Why was this man trying to lead you away, especially when you have three Badges?"

Bianca's father looked like he wanted to open his mouth, but a death glare from Elesa shut him up.

"Well... he's my father," Bianca began. "B-basically, he wants me to stop my journey! And w-when I wanted help from one of my so-called _friends_ ," she glared at Hilbert, "He didn't do anything! In fact, he outright threw me under the bus!"

Bianca's father's face was turning red. "The only reason I wanted you to stop your journey is because of the sandstorm!" he yelled. "You could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't!" Bianca yelled back. "That's the point! I was here in this city when the sandstorm hit! I was never in any danger! And you weren't either, Hilbert, so why'd you turn against me!?"

"The fact that you weren't killed is honestly irrelevant, Bianca," Hilbert said. "I wasn't in the sandstorm, yeah, but I saw what it did. It... wasn't pretty. Trust me."

"But-"

" _Enough."_ Elesa said. "All of you, just shut up. I've heard quite enough. What we seem to have here is a conflict of safety and parenteral protection versus wanderlust and self-discovery. And while I can say that the world is a dangerous place, and that traversing it ill-equipped is bad, I can also say that constraining a curious mind from exploring it is _worse._ In other words, let your daughter do what she wants. All children have to leave the nest someday, and discover who they want to be on their own. Isn't that the whole point of a Pokemon journey?"

"Not when that journey can get them killed!" Bianca's father shot back.

"I knew the risks involved, dad!" Bianca countered. "And... and I if I had died in that sandstorm, at least I'd die knowing I'd done something with my life instead of sitting there and watching the world pass me by in Nuvema!"

"H-how can you say that?" Her father said, his voice quivering. "Do you even realize what you're _saying!? What you dying would do to your mother and I!?"_

" _I couldn't care less at this point!"_ Bianca shouted. "This journey is my chance to find out what I want to do with my life! Maybe I'm not the strongest Trainer, but who cares!? I want to keep going, and _no one-_ not you, and not Hilbert- will change that." Her eyes steeled with resolve. "And if I have to battle you over this, then so be it."

His face twisting in anger, Bianca's father finally exploded. _"Fine!"_ he roared. "If you want to keep going, then by all damn means! Just think about the consequences of what might happen if you do."

With that, he released his Unfezant, the final stage of the Pidove line, hopped on, and flew away.

Elesa flicked her already short bangs to the side, recalling her Zebstrika. "Whew! Thought he'd never leave. I would have zapped him if he hadn't."

"Thank you, Elesa," Bianca said. "If you hadn't helped me... I might have had to stop my journey and go back home."

"Think nothing of it," Elesa replied. "I always have time to help someone, and seeing how Nimbasa just lost thirty-eight of its citizens, I am _not_ in the mood to take shit from anyone right now. But he was right about one thing: Pokemon journeys are tough. If you want to find out just _how_ tough they can get, stop by the Gym. I guarantee, I'll make your head spin."

Bianca nodded as Elesa walked away, sneering at Hilbert as she passed him. Suddenly, Bianca marched right up to the boy. " _You!"_ she screamed in his face. "Why didn't you take my side, Hilbert!? I thought we were friends! What happened to all that encouragement you gave me back in Castelia at the Battle Company?"

"I took your father's side for the same reason he wanted to take you home!" Hilbert yelled back. "Your _protection!_ Like I said earlier, I saw what that sandstorm did! Didn't you pay any attention at _all_ during the musical!? Are you blind and deaf!? _Dozens of people died!_ In all likelihood, you just _barely_ got to safety before the storm hit!"

" _I can handle myself!"_ Bianca shouted. "I _swear,_ next time we battle, I'll get you back for this, you _asshole."_

 _That_ caught Hilbert off guard. Hearing Bianca swear was a very rare occurrence, but it did happen, and she saved cursing for times when she was extremely angry or sad. She seemed to be a combination of the two right now.

Letting out a snort, he turned away. "You're certainly welcome to try," he said over his shoulder as he walked away. "Sorry I actually gave a fuck about your well-being."

Leaving Bianca behind, Hilbert angrily walked back to his hotel, furious thoughts brewing in his mind the whole way.

* * *

 **A/N: Little fun fact: This chapter was originally planned to be quite different, and far more like it was in the game, with Hilbert's Dewott actually taking part in the musical. Didn't work out that way because the mood whiplash would've been too extreme, but I thought I'd let you know about What Could Have Been.**

 **But with that, I come to an announcement: I'm putting this story and all others I'm writing on hiatus. Why, you may ask? Well, dear readers, this is the time of year when bored, sad little children are out and about on this website trying to stir up the drama pot, troll, and generally act like the shitheads they are. (You want proof of that? Check the reviews). I want to avoid that as much as possible. So, we'll resume our frankly not-very-well-scheduled-programming once the...** _ **animals**_ **are back in their cages. As an aside, I'm doing something really cool at the end of July that I can't wait to tell you all about, but that must be saved for September. See you then, hopefully with a good backlog of two or three chapters. Oh, and sorry about the lack of horizontal lines after the A/N last time. I just forgot.**


	19. Chapter 17: Defeat

**A/N: A huge thanks to all who reviewed last time. That was a surprisingly big turnout in terms of reviews. Maybe that's the secret to success on this website! Just take a long time to update, kinda... like... I did... this time... *sheepish grin* _Heh._ Anyways, since we've got a fairly major battle this chapter, it's music time! I've got a remix of the N battle theme linked on my profile, so go give it a listen while reading. "B-but Rylek!" I hear you stammer as you listen to it, "That remix is _clearly_ meant more for the _final_ N battle, not the ferris wheel one! What are you gonna do for that!?" Three words, my friends: Little. v. Mills. That is all. Fun fact, by the way: We've officially passed one month of in-story time. It is now April in-story. Oh, and as for those who reviewed after I went on my hiatus, I'm sorry I didn't see your reviews. I didn't get any email alerts for them, and I rarely check my reviews anymore (though in my defense, I have a very good reason for that).**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 17: Flattened, Rolled Up, and Tossed Aside

In a rarely visited section of the Nimbasa City amusement park, two Team Plasma grunts stood at attention, listening to their king give them their orders.

"You both know what to do," N said. "You will find the boy in that picture," he pointed to the photo of Hilbert they had gotten out of a hacked street camera in Castelia he had given to the grunts, "and lure him here. I don't care how."

"B-but, my Lord N!" one of the grunts stammered. "You're taking him on alone!? Why don't you want backup?"

"Frankly, because I can't trust either of you to provide any beneficial help," N said. "That boy has defeated Trainers and Team Plasma members alike with ease. Who's to say you'll be anything more than an annoyance to him? Now go. He's staying in a hotel to the west of here."

"...Yes, my Lord," the grunt said, he and his partner turning and walking away.

Meanwhile, Hilbert furiously walked back to his hotel, his shoes slapping against the pavement harshly. He kept his gaze downcast, his strides long and powerful. He did his best to ignore the dull pain of his still-sore legs. He could have just taken a cab to his hotel, but he knew if he did so, he would still be in a rage. Walking helped blow off steam. The boy knew he was at a crossroads: Sick and tired of the journey, but too far into it to turn back and go home.

 _Just... Damn it all._ Hilbert thought. _Damn this whole fucking journey._

He continued angrily walking through the city. Every crosswalk was a test of his patience, and he slapped the button on the lightpoles repeatedly to get the lights to change, drawing the looks of civilians. "What!?" Hilbert yelled at them. "What are you looking at!?"

They merely turned away, muttering, "kids these days", and other, more vulgar things.

Growling, he continued on, passing office buildings and apartment highrises alike. Off to the west, the lights of the Nimbasa City amusement park shone, with the Rondez-View being particularly visible. The usually happy and colourful city's flags were at half-mast to honour the sandstorm victims, however. Eventually, he reached the general area where his hotel was located, and he picked up the pace, eager to get to his room and have a shower. He passed an alleyway between two buildings. Glancing down it, he saw three silhouettes, illuminated by the lights from the street. Nothing seemed strange about that, until he looked closer. One of the silhouettes was holding another of the silhouettes by the lapels, shoving him against the wall. A voice (clearly that of the victim) rang out. "H-help! Somebody help me!"

Hilbert's eyes widened. It was probably a mugging in progress. His thoughts raced. _Should I call the cops? No, they'd take too long to get here, and they won't be able to do anything, anyway. Could just leave it alone, but then again... I need some stress relief._

Walking into the alleyway, he quickly saw who the attackers were. _Oh, no. Not here._

It was two Team Plasma grunts. One was holding an older man against the wall in a threatening manner, while the other, who looked a bit bigger, stood to the side in silence with his arms crossed. Presumably, he was there to provide added muscle, if need be.

"Give it up, old man!" the grunt holding the man against the wall threatened. "We know you run the service that breeds Pokemon for new Trainers! Time to tell us where you pick up your shipments of imported Ditto!"

The man, to his credit, didn't bow to their demands. "I-I won't tell you!" he stammered. "Not on your life!"

"Well, then I guess this has to get physical," the grunt said, grinning wickedly. "Terrence, as you will..."

The man's face paled as the bigger grunt stepped up, ready to take a devastating swing, until Hilbert decided to call out.

"Hey!" he yelled. All three turned their heads toward him.

"Oh, you there!" the man called. "Help me! Please!"

For a second, Hilbert could swear a flash of realization crossed the two grunts' faces, but it was hard to tell in the low light, and the look was gone just as quickly, replaced by evil smirks.

"Well, well, a kid thinks he can stop us!" the bigger grunt said in his appropriately deep voice. "Question is, how? With a fuckin' Petilil or something?"

Hilbert just sighed. "Look guys, I've had a rough last few days, and I'm not in the mood for any of your shit. So unless you both want to end up in the hospital, _back off._ I'm not asking."

"Only one who's gonna end up in the hospital is _you,_ shithead!" the smaller grunt yelled. "Watchog, teach him a lesson."

In a flash of light, the Lookout Pokemon appeared.

"Not another one of those things," Hilbert muttered, remembering acutely the punishment Lenora's Watchog had inflicted on his Pokemon. Even the dim light coming into the alleyway reflected off the stripes on Watchog's torso, causing it to glow slightly.

"Sensei, get out there!" Hilbert tossed out his Sawk.

The Plasma grunt wasted no time."Watchog, Hypnosis!"

"Sensei, Double Kick!" Hilbert yelled. He knew this fight would be extremely close quarters and dangerous, as there was little room to dodge to the sides.

The energy beam for the Hypnosis attack gathered in the Watchog's red eyes, but Sensei had learned from his earlier battle with Lenora's Watchog. As the Watchog shot the sleep-inducing beam out of its orbs, Sensei slid under it like a baseball player going for home base, using the momentum of the slide to kick out the Watchog's legs, knocking it over. Quickly getting to his feet, Sensei kicked the Lookout Pokemon while it was down, knocking it out. He then hopped back, taking a fighting stance.

"Damn it!" the Plasma grunt yelled, recalling the Watchog. He took a second Poke Ball off his belt, throwing it out. "Go, Trubbish!"

The Pokemon that emerged was one of the most disgusting things Hilbert had ever seen. It was certainly one of the most foul-smelling. It looked like a trash bag that had somehow come to life and called itself a Pokemon. It had oval-shaped eyes, sharp teeth, and most revolting of all, _its arms looked like they were made of garbage!_

"Ugh!" Hilbert covered his mouth and nose with his hand to block out the stench of the Pokemon. He figured the reason the Plasma grunts weren't doing the same was because they had gone nose-blind to it. "What the hell is that thing!? Sensei, kill it! Quick!"

Sensei, lacking nostrils, didn't much care about the smell the Trubbish was giving off, and ran towards it. He turned on his heel when he was within range, slamming his feet into the Trash Bag Pokemon, one after the other. However, while the attack did considerable damage, it wasn't near the instant-KO hit the Sawk had expected. Bewildered, both he and Hilbert just stared as the grunt yelled, "Sludge!"

In a span of about a second, the Trubbish looked up at Sensei, took on a surprisingly fierce expression, and opened its mouth, blasting Sensei with regurgitated slime. The Karate Pokemon yelped in surprise and pain, jumping back.

"Why'd you think a Fighting-type move would even dent a Poison-type, kid?" the grunt said. "Keep going, Trubbish! Acid Spray!"

The Trubbish opened its mouth again, shooting noxious, green liquid out of its maw. The hide-melting substance hit Sensei dead-on, sending him sprawling back. Some of the drops of the acid landed on the concrete, eating it away with a hiss.

"Sensei!" Hilbert yelled. "You've gotta keep going! Use Double Kick again!"

The Sawk quickly ducked out of the way of another Acid Spray, the concrete ground taking the full brunt of the attack, melting away a layer of it. He then ran at the Trubbish, just as eager as Hilbert to see it gone, and kicked the opposing Pokemon with all his might twice. This time, the attack was too much for the Trubbish to take. It was quickly recalled to its Poke Ball by the grunt.

"What!?" he cried. "How'd I lose!? You're just a kid!"

"That's what every one of you grunts has said," Hilbert scoffed, recalling Sensei. "Right after I've already kicked their asses, of course."

"I think we better get outta here, man!" the more muscular grunt said. "That went downhill fast!"

"Agreed," the other said. He raised his voice so Hilbert would hear. "We'll hide out in the amusement park!"

Without warning, the pair of grunts barrelled down the alleyway. Hilbert tried to step in front of them, but the bigger grunt punched him in the face as he passed, causing him to fall. _"Agh!"_ he cried out in pain.

The man that the Plasma grunts were assaulting ran over. "Oh! Oh, my! Are you okay, young man?" He extended a hand, which Hilbert took, pulling the boy to his feet.

"I've _..._ unngh... been better..." Hilbert groaned. He felt the right side of his face near his temple. As he expected, the flesh was tender and sore, and he felt a thin trickle of blood dripping onto his hand. _"_ Fuck _..._ " he swore.

"Oh, I'm so sorry you got hurt on my behalf!" the man said. "I don't know what kind of nonsense that was, but I'm never coming back to this city again, that's for damn sure!"

Hilbert shook his head, trying to clear the fog. This turned out to be a mistake, as he only agitated his wound, causing him to hiss in pain. "Wha-what were they... after you for..?" he asked, his words slow. "I heard them talk about how... you get... imported Ditto... what was that about?"

"Oh, yes!" the man exclaimed. "My wife and I run the service which breeds starter Pokemon eggs for new Trainers. We use Ditto imported from Kanto to ensure a 100% chance an egg will be laid. I don't know what those goons were after me for, but it couldn't have been anything good."

The pieces slowly came together in Hilbert's mind. _If this guy runs the breeding service... then Team Plasma must have been after him to stop the production of starter Pokemon eggs. Those bastards!_

"Well... the best thing I can recommend is that you get out of this city as soon as you can," Hilbert told him, the haze in his brain finally lifting. "I've dealt with those guys before, and they're all bad. Good news is, their bark is worse than their Bite attack, as you saw. I'll chase after those two. They said they were going to the amusement park, right?"

The man nodded. "Yes, they did, but... be careful. The way they just ran off... I don't like it. Seems a little fishy. You're a Trainer, right? Are you staying in the Pokemon Center?"

"Nope. It was fully booked when I got here because of the sandstorm, and I think it still is. I'm staying in a hotel about two blocks from here."

"That's where I'm staying, too," the man said. "This seems _really_ suspicious now... almost like they wanted to find you, and used me as bait. Even so, if you're going after them, take this."

The man took a key out of his pocket and handed it to Hilbert. "That's the key to a bike lock. It's chained up across the street. I was gonna go on a cycling tour of this city, but to hell with that idea now! I'll just Fly home."

"Alright, thank you. Have a safe ride home."

Hilbert then left the man, carefully crossing the street, where three bicycles were chained to a bike rack. He tried the key in the first lock, to no success. The lock of the next bike he tried, a silver-blue coloured one, yielded to the key. "Gotcha!" Hilbert whispered excitedly. He had some experience riding bicycles before, as there was a short-lived bike store in Accumula Town when he was ten. He mounted the bike, and, after a bit of unsteady wobbling, he was off.

His legs cried out in pain at him as he rode west, causing him to wince with every rotation of the pedals. The wind against his face, stinging his wound, was not helping either. He rode carefully, as he didn't have a helmet, so falling off could be lethal.

It was nearing eleven at night when he finally made it to the amusement park's brightly-lit, arched entryway. Admittance was free, as every ride and attraction required a fee to ride, and the park used that money to keep running. He took the bike chain and lock out of his bag, securing the cycle to another bike rack outside the park, then went in.

Despite the fact that it was late at night, the park was far from dead. Children jumped around in the huge Pikachu-shaped bounce house near the entrance, the rollercoasters were still taking passengers for dizzying rides, people were in stalls, loudly shouting to advertise their games, and at the end of it all, the Rondez-View loomed.

Hilbert realized something then: If the Plasma goons had hid out here, he didn't have a hope in hell of finding them, what with the cacophony of noise and people everywhere. "Arceus fucking dammit," he swore under his breath.

Still, it never hurt to at least try. _Well, a higher vantage point is never a bad thing,_ he thought. _First stop, ferris wheel._

He began to walk toward the giant wheel, all lit up for the night. The city's Pokemon Gym was located in the middle of the park, but due to Elesa still being busy dealing with the aftermath of the sandstorm, she was not accepting challengers at the present time. Suddenly, he saw a very familiar green ponytail in the crowd, belonging to someone leaning against a stall. It was N.

"Ah, shit. Not him. Not now," Hilbert muttered. N turned his head towards Hilbert, seeing him. The blue jacketed boy tried to hide amongst the crowd, but the green-haired boy was already starting to walk towards him with laserlike focus.

Any chance of evading N Hilbert had evaporated when N called out to him. "Hilbert! What are you doing here?"

Hilbert froze, turning around to face N, only to see the green-haired teen was standing right in front of him, startling him. _Seriously, how fast can this guy move!?_ he thought.

"What are you doing here?" N repeated. Then he noticed Hilbert's face. The place where the Plasma grunt had punched him had turned an ugly shade of bluish-purple. "What... happened to your face?"

"Here are some better questions, N," Hilbert said angrily. "What are _you_ doing here? Why is it that you're always showing up where I happen to be? Are you stalking me or some shit!?"

N seemed taken aback by Hilbert's accusation. After a long pause, he said, "...If you come with me, I'll answer all your questions."

"And why should I, N!?" Hilbert yelled. "So far, every time I've seen you, you've done nothing but ramble on about nonsense I couldn't give less of a damn about, then fought me! That's not exactly the type of attitude that inspires trust." Hilbert then took notice of the Poke Balls on N's belt. "You're just gonna do it again, aren't ya?"

N looked shocked, even hurt, by the accusation. Then, slowly, he said, "...You're looking for Team Plasma, aren't you?"

Hilbert's eyes widened. "How did you..?" he began, but then remembered two events: His battle outside the Nacrene City Museum, and something Ghetsis had said in Castelia. Ghetsis had mentioned gathering his so-called 'Sages' for a 'king's' benefit. Also, based on their similar ranting on 'bringing back the hero', that could only mean...

 _He's part of Team Plasma,_ Hilbert thought. _No two ways about it._ Then, inwardly, he smirked. _This could work to my advantage. Maybe I can pump him for information on those goons._

Hilbert crossed his arms over his chest, his shocked demeanour from a few seconds ago gone. "Yeah, I am," he said. He pointed to the Rondez-View. "I was gonna go up there, see if I could spot them from a higher vantage point. Wanna help?"

N's face lit up with glee. "Oh, of course I would!" he exclaimed. "I've always loved ferris wheels. The precise mechanics and the circular motion... they're like collections of elegant formulas, all working together in perfect harmony. Follow me. I'll pay."

N turned around and began walking quickly toward the ride. Hilbert only smiled evilly. _Sucker._

They waited in the short line in silence, soon getting in one of the cars. It was large enough to stand fully erect in, and could hold up to four people, with two on each red-cushioned bench placed on either side. N sat down on the right bench, gesturing to the left bench as their ride began.

"Well sit down," he said. Hilbert plopped down on the opposite bench to N.

A full rotation passed in thumb-twiddling silence, N looking out the window in quiet reflection. Finally, he broke the quiet.

"Hilbert, have you ever wondered how many Pokemon there are in this world? Not just in Unova, but out there on other continents and regions? I'm sure even now, there are plenty we haven't discovered."

Hilbert snorted, making an expression that was somewhere between a bitter smile and a grimace. "I'm not sure if I wanna think about that. The list of known species in Unova is huge as it is, I'm not sure I could handle any more."

N merely replied with a small grunt, going back to looking out the window.

Hilbert folded his fingers together, leaning forward. "So how'd you know I was searching for Team Plasma? Hmm?"

"Oh, that's simple," N said, not looking away from the window. "I ordered them to go after you. After all, I'm Team Plasma's king."

Hilbert's eyes narrowed into murderous slits. _So it's true. I was right, he_ is _part of Team Plasma._ he thought.

N glanced in his direction. "You don't seem too surprised."

"You dropped some pretty fucking screamingly obvious hints back in Narcene," Hilbert growled. "Plus, what you said then lined up nicely with something Ghetsis said back in Castelia. Wasn't hard to put the pieces together. I've had my suspicions since Castelia, but I had my doubts, too, until about eight minutes ago. That's when I realized you were part of that damned organization."

N looked down at the ground. "Well, it seems my followers have found me."

Hilbert immediately whirled around, looking down at the ground through the glass. "Oh, _shit!"_ he hissed. Two Plasma grunts were at the entrance to the wheel, looking up at them and seemingly waiting for the car to come down. They were holding the small crowd that had gathered at bay with their Pokemon. The blue jacketed boy moved in a blur, grabbing Scrapper's Poke Ball off his belt and holding it in front of him.

"You make one move, I open this and order the Pokemon inside to use Metal Claw on the supports of this car, and then we both go crashing down, unless you let me go once we get to the ground."

N just scoffed, now paying full attention. "Hilbert, don't delude yourself. I may not know you all that well, but you're not a killer, nor are you suicidal."

Hilbert clicked the front button on the Ball, enlarging it. "Wanna bet?"

Suddenly, the car lurched as it came to a halt. During their exchange, the car had reached the ground. "I guess your little threat is now moot," N smirked. One of the Plasma grunts opened the door, and N stepped out. The other grunt grabbed Hilbert and yanked him out roughly, holding his arms in place.

"So what now? Huh!?" Hilbert said. "You just gonna fight me and lose like every other time!?"

"On the contrary, Hilbert, this time I intend to _win,"_ N said. He motioned to the grunt holding the boy. "Let him go and get out of here. Our battle will buy time for you both."

The grunt released Hilbert and harshly shoved him forwards, the boy just barely keeping from falling over. Then he and his partner ran off. Hilbert attempted to run after them, only for N to throw out a Sandile, blocking his path.

"Fine. You wanna play it that way? Then we will. Go, Maru!" Hilbert's Dewott faced down the enemy Sandile with a snarl, taking the seashells off its hips.

"Assurance!" N yelled. The Sandile ran at Maru, getting ready to whack him with its tail. The Discipline Pokemon didn't even flinch. He quickly jumped to the side, slashing the Sandile with his shells as it went by, just like he had so many times before. The super-effective, item-boosted attack was more than enough to knock the Desert Croc Pokemon out in a single hit.

"Sandile, return!" N said. He pulled another Poke Ball off his belt, tossing it out. It opened in midair to reveal a Scraggy. Scraggy was a bipedal Pokemon that resembled a lizard. Its body was cream-coloured, with the top half of its head being yellow. A mass of loose skin was around its legs, resembling a pair of baggy pants, with some of the skin trailing off behind it to form a tail of sorts.

The crowd hadn't dissipated like Hilbert had hoped. Rather, it only seemed to be getting bigger, as more oblivious people came to watch the spectacle. Not knowing if N was willing to take hostages, he yelled, "Everyone, get away! It's dangerous! This isn't some show battle!"

He whipped his attention back to the battle when he heard Maru cry out in pain. N had ordered Scraggy to use Brick Break on the Discipline Pokemon, the attack doing a lot of damage and knocking Maru back a fair distance.

Pressing the advantage, Scraggy went after Maru, who was pushing himself to his feet. Maru just barely dodged out of the way of another Brick Break by throwing himself to the side. Scraggy's fist impacted with the place where he had been a microsecond later, leaving a dent in the concrete.

Growling, Maru got to his feet, pulling the seashells off his hips. With a cry, he launched himself at Scraggy, slashing with the shells, only for Scraggy to parry his blows with surprising speed. The two Pokemon kept this up for a couple of minutes, trading and parrying blows in an eye-widening display of marital arts... but sooner or later, one would have to slip up, and it was Maru.

During an attempted slash, Scraggy dodged, grabbed his arm, and pulled him down, karate-chopping him in the face. Maru staggered back, crying out, but Scraggy wouldn't give him the chance to recover. It grabbed Maru by the shoulders, and smashed its head into his. The devastating Headbutt attack was more than enough to knock Maru unconscious.

"Maru! No!" Hilbert yelled. "Come back, now!"

 _Fuck, that Scraggy is tough,_ Hilbert thought. _And I still don't even know what its type is!_

Meanwhile, N's eyes were narrowed, threatening. "You have two options now, Hilbert," he said coldly. "You can just give up now, or keep fighting, and suffer crushing defeat like you've never known it. Your choice."

"Like _hell_ I'll give up against _you_ , ya Team Plasma bastard!" Hilbert yelled. He tossed out another Poke Ball. "Go, Logan!"

The Herdier growled as it faced down the Shedding Pokemon. "Logan, Take Down!" Hilbert commanded.

N smirked as the Loyal Dog Pokemon raced for Scraggy. When the time was right, he yelled, ""Brick Break!"

At the last second, Scraggy jumped aside, just like Maru had done with N's Sandile, punching Logan in the flank as he went by. Logan yelped in pain, the super-effective attack knocking him out instantly.

"Damn!" Hilbert said. He recalled Logan. _Well, at least I know Scraggy's a Fighting-type now,_ he thought. Knowing his best bet against Scraggy was Artemis, he sent her out.

"Artemis, Pluck!" he yelled.

Artemis, being unable to fly, ran at in incredible speed toward Scraggy. Before N even had time to call out a command, she had pinned the Shedding Pokemon to the ground, brutally pecking it multiple times. The super-effective move, coming off Archen's massive 112 base attack, was pure overkill. Scraggy was beaten unconscious in a heartbeat.

N's mouth contorted into a snarling expression, that, for as much as he had seen him, Hilbert considered uncharacteristic. The blue-jacketed boy gave that expression right back. "You'll pay for that, Hilbert," the green-haired teen said. "Get ready to lose. Sigilyph, come out! Tailwind!"

While Hilbert had seen Sigilyph before in the Desert Resort, this was his first time seeing one up close. The Avainoid Pokemon's body was spherical, with two of its eyes in the centre of a black stripe, with green stripes above and below it. Its third eye was on a black appendage- almost like an antennae- on top of its body. Its wings and tail were primary-coloured, and two three-toed, spiked 'feet' stuck out from either side of its body.

The Sigilyph followed N's command without hesitation, using its wings to whip up a wind so strong that Hilbert had to literally hold onto his hat. Artemis squawked, being caught in the worst of it. She dug her talons into the ground. Then, something strange happened with the wind: It came back in a gust that nearly blew Hilbert forward, then formed into a sort of mini-tornado around the Sigilyph that it could ride the currents of.

"AncientPower, Artemis!" Hilbert yelled. Several rocks, surrounded by a mystical power, levitated out of the ground, and were sent flying toward the Sigilyph. However, it dodged every single one with deft agility, spinning out of the way of the last one and retaliating with a powerful Psybeam from its third eye. Artemis squawked in pain as the beam hit her, driving her well below Defeatist range. She immediately slumped down, making pathetic whining noises, and was left an easy target for another Psybeam. This time, the attack proved too much, knocking her out.

"Crap," Hilbert said. Now down to only three Pokemon, he sent out Makue. However, the wind currents around the Sigilyph were starting to die down. Seizing his chance, he had Makue go for Headbutt, having her jump for it, but Sigilyph used the last of the wind to dodge out of the way, causing the Darumaka to slam into the ground, leaving her open for another Psybeam, The laser of psychic energy hit Makue dead-on, sending her sprawling. Showing no quarter, Sigilyph launched another Psybeam at her, hitting her and knocking her out.

"Set up Tailwind again, Sigilpyh!" N yelled. Sigilyph flapped its wings, the tornado forming around it again.

Hilbert sent out Scrapper, but at this point he wasn't sure why he bothered. Sigilyph was more than likely far better off in terms of stats than the Drilbur, and was immune to Scrapper's STAB attacks, anyway. Just like the rest of his team, Scrapper fell to a combination of attacks and agility. Now down to only one Pokemon, but not willing to give up, Hilbert sent out the injured Sensei, but with one Air Cutter, it was over. In utter shock at being defeated so easily, he returned the Sawk to his Poke Ball, and simply stood there.

Smirking, N recalled his Sigilyph, and walked over to Hilbert. "Your Trainer Card, please," he said. "After all, isn't an exchange of prize money in order?"

Hilbert just stood there, still flabbergasted.

"Your Trainer Card," N repeated. _"Now."_

In a daze, Hilbert reached into his jacket, pulling out his Card. N snatched it out of his hand, tapping it against his own. " _This_ is why I said not to get too complacent the last two times we fought. I knew, someday, I _would_ defeat you. Your conviction was weak. That's why you lost. Soon, I'll defeat the champion and become the most powerful Trainer in all of Unova. Then, I'll make all the Trainers free their Pokemon. You can try and stop me, if you dare. But something tells me you won't. Oh, and you are now officially an enemy of Team Plasma."

N threw Hilbert's Trainer Card back at him, and it bounced off his chest, falling to the ground. Chuckling to himself, N walked away. Only one thought was going through Hilbert's mind: _Damn._

* * *

 **A/N:** **Well, Hilbert lost. Just like how another Trainer named after a certain type of tree recently lost** _ **another motherfucking League**_ **, except with nowhere near the level of disappointed outcry from everyone this side of the planet. To be honest, I can't say I'm all that surprised, but since I had no real expectation for Ash to actually** _ **win,**_ **I can't exactly say I'm angry, either. Needless to say, if a bunch of people swear off the anime for good... can't really say I blame you. Luckily for Hilbert, next chapter he'll get a bit of a pick-me-up from a certain short-shorts wearing girl... Yes, that's right, Hilda will appear next chapter.**

 **Oh yes, and that 'really cool thing' I promised to tell you all about that I did at the end of July? Well, I cosplayed as Hilbert to a convention. The costume was** _ **very, very**_ **expensive, because I have no experience sewing, so I had to commission it. The hat alone (which was custom-made, by the way) cost** _ **140 dollars Canadian.**_ **And let's not discuss how pricey the jacket was... *shudder*** **However, it was worth every penny.**


	20. Chapter 18: Sometimes You Need a Friend

**A/N: HEY GAIZ REMEMBER HOW I SAID 'NO PAIRINGS' IN THE SUMMRIY?! Well, I'm a filthy fucking liar. There is romance in this chapter. All aboard the Chessship! And I've been seriously holding out on you guys with the remix I have linked on my profile. It's an excellent jazz remix of the Nimbasa City theme, so go listen to it while reading. I don't normally listen to jazz (don't hate it, just find it okay), but I can honestly say this is probably the best version of Nimbasa City's theme I've heard. Even though not much time is spent in Nimbasa in this chapter. Go figure. Oh, and any and all useless Guest reviews that are nothing but squeeing will be _nuked._ Do that while logged in, you will be permablocked.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 18: Sometimes You Just Need a Friend

Unlike the angry demeanor with which Hilbert had walked not two hours previously, his steps this time were slow, dragging, and listless. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't care. He had left the park in a hurry before the police arrived, but it almost didn't matter. They wouldn't be able to do anything, anyway. His face ached from the Plasma grunt's punch, his legs were still sore, and he needed a shower. He took out and looked at his Trainer Card for the first time since exiting the park.

"Oh, fuck me-!" he swore. He was almost out of money. What he had left was certainly not enough to pay his hotel bill, which meant he was more or less screwed. He put his card away, passing the building that served as the entrance to the Battle Subway. _Can this day get any fucking worse..?_ hethought.

Suddenly, a blur came racing down the steps of the building, yelling in an exuberant voice, "Yes! I did it! I finally beat-"

 _WHAM._ The blur collided with Hilbert, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Hilbert and whoever had slammed into him let out cries of surprise and pain, Hilbert's being louder as he landed on his bruised face.

"Yes," Hilbert moaned quietly as he pushed himself to his hands and knees, "It has gotten fucking worse..." Then he looked at who, exactly, had rammed into him, and his eyes widened. Maybe it hadn't gotten worse, after all. The person who had knocked him over was easily the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

Her brown hair, just a few shades darker than his own, was mostly trapped under a baseball cap, one that looked eerily similar to his, save for two thick strands that framed her face, and a massive, bushy ponytail that was pulled through the hole in the back of her hat. She wore a black vest over a white tank top, and blue jean shorts that Hilbert was sure would get her arrested for indecent exposure had they been any shorter. She looked at his face, her wide, glittering blue eyes meeting his brown ones.

"Well, damn," she said. "Never thought I'd meet someone by the old 'crash-into hello'. Are you alright? And Arceus, what happened to your face?" She got to her feet, pulling Hilbert to his.

"Alright? _Alright?_ " Hilbert said. He sat down on the building's stairs, starting to laugh in a bitter, almost insane way. "I've been through so much shit so far and you're asking me if I'm _alright."_ All of a sudden, his laughter stopped, and he looked down, his eyes darkening. _"Of course I'm not alright!"_ Hilbert exploded, startling the girl.

Breathing heavily, Hilbert stood up, launching into a rant. "Let's go down the list of things that have happened to me on this journey that was supposed to be a nice little Gym Badge-earning sightseeing tour of Unova, shall we? In order, I've had my arm sliced open by Poke Ball shrapnel trying to catch a Pokemon and nearly bled to death, taken captive by a criminal organization and almost dragged off to fuck-knows-where by them, been threatened by gang members, went through an _absolutely miserable_ trek back to Nacrene, had my friends turn against me, and most recently, I got my ass handed to me by the leader of said criminal organization! And just to put the jizz cherry on the shit sundae, I can't pay for my fucking hotel anymore, because of that loss! So _no,_ I am most definitely _not alright."_ The last was said through gritted teeth, his nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily.

The girl snorted. "Geez, you didn't have to yell about it. But is all of that true?"

"Oh, you bet your ass it is!" Hilbert yelled. He partially took off his jacket to show her the railroad-track scar on his arm. "Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention is that I tripped over dead bodies on Route 4 on the way back here from Nacrene."

The girl's eyes widened. "Holy shit," she said. _"Really?_ Was it in the aftermath of-"

"-That big sandstorm? Yeah, it was," Hilbert said. "Didn't look pretty, either. Now, are we just gonna stand here playing Twenty Questions, or will you tell me your name?"

The girl scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Oh yeah, sorry about that." She stuck her hand out, inviting Hilbert to shake it. "Name's Hilda White. Yours?"

"Hilbert Touya," the boy said plainly, grabbing her hand and shaking it. "What were you doing that caused you to run out here like that, by the way?"

"Well, you never answered my question of what happened to your face, so quid pro quo," Hilda smirked.

Hilbert closed his eyes, giving an annoyed exhale through his nostrils. Forcing himself to be calm, he explained. "Have you heard about a group called Team Plasma? The people who say they're out to 'liberate' Pokemon, but just come across as massive hypocrites?"

Hilda nodded. "Actually, yeah, I have. I saw a guy named Ghetsis give a speech right near the Big Stadium, before the sandstorm. Claimed he was part of the organization. 'Course, I didn't believe a word he said, but lots of people in the crowd did, and let their Pokemon go."

"Yeah, them," Hilbert continued. "Well, I ran into a few of their underlings not three hours ago. They were harassing an old man who runs the breeding service for starter Pokemon eggs in this region, I think to stop the production of them by taking him captive, but I stopped them, and got punched in the face for my efforts."

"Ooh," Hilda cringed. "You've really just gotten dealt a bad hand, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it," Hilbert muttered darkly. "Well, actually I guess you _do,_ given how I just told you everything, but still. Now, I've told you what happened to my face, now tell me what you were doing running out yelling like a maniac."

Hilda's face lit up with pride. "Oh, nothing but the fact that I just finally managed to win the Single Battle Train challenge! I kicked the Subway Boss's ass!" She turned away from Hilbert, waving her arms in pride. "And damn, did revenge feel _sweet_ after he he did the same to me so many Arceus-damned times! In fact, I wanna take on the Multi Train right now, while I'm on this high, but I need a... partner..."

An evil look of realization came over Hilda's face as she turned back towards Hilbert, making him nervous. Her mouth curled into an devious smirk. _Uh, oh..._ Hilbert thought.

She crossed the short distance between them, getting right up in his face. _"You!"_ she exclaimed, poking him in the chest. Her eyes were lit up with joy. _"You'll_ be my Multi Train partner! Don't argue with me, we're doing this! Now!"

Not even giving him a chance to reply, she grabbed his wrist, and ran up the short flight of stairs leading into the Battle Subway building. Hilbert was about to protest, until he got a good look at her from behind. He hadn't noticed (or cared) before now, but Hilda's short shorts did a beautiful job outlining and accentuating her backside, as well as showing off her legs. Even after they had entered into the building's main lobby, which was the record hall, and she had let his hand go, he still found his eyes just naturally drawn towards her lower half.

Hilda looked over her shoulder, seeing where Hilbert's gaze was directed, and an annoyed expression came over her face. "Would you quit staring at my ass?" she hissed. "Yeah, I know, it's a great ass, and I'm proud to have been born with it, but that doesn't mean all guys my age have to continually ogle me because of it!"

Hibert's face went crimson. "Oh, uh... sorry," he said sheepishly. _Fuck you, puberty,_ he thought.

Hilda rolled her eyes. _"Anyways,_ the Battle Subway platforms are down this way! Come on!" She led him through the building, to a fancy, wide flight of stairs that led downwards, underground. As they were walking downstairs, Hilda reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a disk, giving it to Hilbert. "This is HM04, Strength," she explained. "A man in this city hands these out for free, but he gave me two by accident, so you can have this."

"Thanks," Hilbert said, putting it away.

They reached the bottom of the stairs. Hilda thrust her arm out in a grand presenting gesture. "Here we are! Welcome to the Gear Station!"

Hilbert gaped at the underground structure. The Gear Station was... _impressive_ , to say the least. The whole place was a giant circle, with one huge, thick central pillar in the centre to hold up the roof. At four different intervals on the pillar, big, fancy clocks adorned it. The walls were made of gray stone, with eight huge alcoves leading to the train platforms at equally-spaced intervals. Underfoot were beige marble tiles, each one waxed to a shiny, reflective finish. Tens of dozens of people were milling about, even this late, talking with each other, entering into the alcoves to board the trains, or just loitering. It created a very busy, bustling atmosphere.

"...Wow," the blue-jacketed boy said.

"I know, pretty amazing, isn't it?" Hilda said. "Now come on, the Multi Train is this way!"

He followed her to the right until they reached an alcove with a circular orange symbol atop the archway. They went down the three steps to get to where the train's platform. In contrast to the floor tiles up top, the tiles here were metal, with several being painted totally yellow. The train itself was unusually wide to accommodate the Pokemon battle arena that was held inside, and there were signs on the walls that read: **The following Ground-type moves** _ **STRICTLY PROHIBITED**_ **,** with a list of banned Ground-type moves, including the devastating Earthquake.

"Why are some Ground-type moves banned?" Hilbert asked.

"Oh, that list covers any moves that might impact the train tracks, or the structural integrity of the car's floor," Hilda explained. "These cars might be able to take a beating, but the tracks sure can't, and no one wants to ride in a car with a hole in the floor because of a Pokemon that used Dig. Now let's ride!"

After explaining the rules, being that, on the Multi Train, the two partner Trainers could only have two Pokemon each, and they would have to win six consecutive battles to fight the Subway Bosses, Emmet and Ingo, they boarded. Hilbert chose his two most powerful team members, Sensei and Artemis, feeling like they would give him the best chance.

Their first set of opponents in the car were a man in a business suit, and a young woman who had dyed her hair a vibrant shade of blue, for whatever reason. The pair sent out a Fraxure, a Dragon-type, and a Sawsbuck, a Normal/Grass-type.

Fraxure was a bipedal Pokemon with a green and gray colour scheme, with two gray tusks protruding from each side of its mouth. It was just over three feet tall, its three-fingered hands and toes were both red, and it had a gray tail with a red tip.

Sawsbuck, on the other hand, was a brown deer-like Pokemon with a cream-coloured chest and lower legs. Its antlers, in a peculiar bit of biology, were branches with small pink flowers growing on them.

"I'll start us off! Go, Vanilluxe!" Hilda yelled, and the Ice-type Pokemon she threw out was one of the strangest Hilbert had ever seen. The best way the Snowstorm Pokemon could be described was two scoops of vanilla ice cream with faces, in icicle-like blue 'cones' that stabbed downwards. The eyes and mouths of both the faces were a light purple, and there was a straw-like appendage sticking out of the left head. Instead of touching the ground, the Ice-type hovered a few feet above it.

"Sensei, get out there!" Hilbert said, throwing out his Sawk. This was looking good, he thought. Their opponents were at a distinct type disadvantage, so this would be an easy victory.

...That is, until he actually ordered an attack. "Sensei, Double Kick on Fraxure!"

The Karate Pokemon ran at the Dragon-type, getting ready to deliver its signature two-hit knockout with Double Kick.

"Fraxure, Dragon Rage!" the blue-haired woman yelled. Fraxure opened its mouth and shot a bolt of yellow energy out of its mouth, the attack hitting Sensei and sending him back. The Axe Jaw Pokemon then ran at Sensei, slashing him with Dragon Claw. The attack, to Hilbert's shock, sent Sensei flying across the length of the car, and he slammed into the far wall.

" _What!?"_ he yelled. He turned to Hilda, who was busy fending off the Sawsbuck with her Vanilluxe. "What the hell was that!? That was one damn hit!"

"What, you didn't know?" Hilda said. "All Pokemon in the Battle Subway are level 50!"

" _WHAT!?"_ Hilbert screamed. "Oh, _shit!"_

Needless to say, the battle did _not_ work out in their favour. Hilbert threw out his Archen in desperation, hoping to at least soften up the enemy Pokemon enough so Hilda could clean up from there. That didn't happen, as one Jump Kick from Sawsbuck put Archen out like a light. Hilda's Vanilluxe suffered the same fate not long after, and then her second Pokemon- a Musharna- was tag-teamed by their opponents. Even though Musharna was bulky, it couldn't stand up to repeated, near-simultaneous attacks, and was knocked out in short order.

"Well, that sucked," Hilda said as they got off the train, walking into the Gear Station. Thankfully, both their Pokemon teams had been fully healed, even the ones that were not picked for the Multi Train.

"And who's fault is that?" Hilbert snapped. "Why didn't you tell me that I was ridiculously underlevelled for that? If I had known, I never would have agreed to doing that!"

"Hey, don't get snippy with me!" Hilda said. "I thought you knew! Everyone knows the Battle Subway is tough and you have to train like crazy for it! Hell, I had to spend literal _months_ training up that Vanilluxe to its evolution level and beyond, and the same goes for the rest of my team." She sighed. "Look, I think we both need a break after that, so why don't we go to Anville Town? It's a little place in Unova's far northwest. Trust me, you'll love it, and besides, didn't you tell me you can't pay your hotel tab with the money you have left? So you basically have no choice unless you want to spend the night sleeping on the sidewalk."

Hilbert grimaced. She was right, much as he hated to admit it. "But that doesn't solve my money problem," he said. "What do I do when we get back?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll lend you some so you can pay your bill," Hilda said. "Now come on. The Brown Line is the one we want to take."

They walked to the alcove with a brown circle above the archway, boarded the train, and were soon on their way to Anville Town. The interior of the train was much more like a traditional subway car, given how it wasn't made for Pokemon battles, so it was more narrow. They were among the only people in their car, Hilda taking the window seat before Hilbert could claim it, so with a grumpy look, he resigned himself to sitting next to the aisle.

The exhaustion of staying up nearly all night was catching up to Hilbert, and he felt his eyelids getting heavy. Hilda noticed, and rolled her eyes, but decided to be nice to him regardless. "Oh, c'mere, ya pussy," she said, pulling him towards her and letting his head rest on her shoulder. "We'll be there in about an hour and a half, so get some rest 'til then."

"Hilda?" Hilbert murmured, his voice heavy and quiet from weariness, "Thank you... thank you."

Hilda just smiled. "You're welcome."

An hour and a half later, after passing through the murky, moonlit scenery of silhouetted forests, the train arrived in Anville Town. Hilda shook Hilbert awake, and they stepped onto the deserted platform, exiting the train.

They soon found a bed and breakfast, checking in and going to their room. It was fairly simple, with a separate door leading off to the bathroom, a bunk bed, and a table, with a large window on the left wall.

"Get on that top bunk. Now," Hilda commanded. "I'm stripping down to my underwear. You look, you die."

"Okay, okay, _fine,"_ Hilbert growled, climbing the ladder. Seconds later, he could hear the shuffling of fabric as Hilda stripped down to her bra and panties, and then a louder version of that sound as she threw the bed's blanket over herself.

Now stuck in the top bunk over threat of violence- which he was sure Hilda would follow through on- Hilbert was forced to awkwardly take off his jeans, jacket, and T-shirt, leaving himself in just his boxers, in the cramped space. He got under the covers and closed his eyes, falling asleep in a matter of five minutes.

The light of the sun coming in through the window and hitting his face woke Hilbert the next morning. He opened his eyes, then quickly squeezed them shut again at the bright rays. He put a hand to his face, rubbing it, before slowly sitting up. "Hilda?" he said groggily, "You up?"

The sound of bedsheets shuffling around from beneath him was heard. "Well, I am now," she said. "Any idea what time it is?"

"No clue. I think the alarm clock is on your level, so you check."

"Not much of a fuckin' alarm clock if it didn't give off any alarm..." Hilda grumbled as she peered across the room at a table. "It's almost noon. Not all that surprising, given how late we were up last night. I'll go into the bathroom to get changed. Same deal as last night. You sneak a peek at me, I'll kill you."

Hilbert just rolled his eyes, laying back down. He waited until the bathroom door closed, and gathered up his clothing, climbing down the ladder. He put his clothes on, but before he put his hat on, he ran a hand through his hair, finding it very greasy. _Damn, that's right,_ he thought. _Haven't had a shower in like three days. I need one badly._

He knocked on the bathroom door, hearing an annoyed Hilda say, "What?"

"Is there a shower in there? I need to take one."

"No, there's a swimming pool in here, complete with diving board," the girl said sarcastically. "Of course there's a shower, just let me get changed and you can have it."

A minute later, Hilda exited the room, allowing Hilbert to take a quick ten-minute shower. When he was done, they went to have a brunch in the building's dining area.

"So, what do you want to do here?" Hilbert said in between sips of a glass of juice.

"I thought we could tour around this town, and I didn't want to do it alone," Hilda shrugged. "That's why I asked you to come with me." She ate a spoonful of her cereal. "We should probably leave around 2:00, though."

The rest of their meals were finished in silence.

Anville Town was a rather small place. It couldn't compare to Nuvema's hamlet-like size, but it was no Castelia. The whole town was built on a large, grassy cliff plateau that overlooked the roundhouses for train cars. The large train station where they had come into town was located to the south. There was a surprisingly big airport to the northeast, but it was only for cargo planes from the agricultural city of Mistralton, which brought food and other supplies. There was no Pokemon Center in the town, and no Gym. Hilbert was shocked at the lack of the former, but not at the latter.

They spent the next few hours wandering around and talking, stopping to watch the occasional plane come in for a landing.

"We really should have come here on a weekend," Hilda said out of the blue. "It's less boring, and people come to trade items. I don't know why, but at least it livens up this place."

Soon, they decided to go back to Nimbasa, the train ride seeming to drag on for the both of them. When they got back to the Gear Station, Hilda spoke up. "So, where's your hotel? I'll pay you when we get there."

"It's near the west side of the city," Hilbert said. "And don't worry how we're gonna get there quick, I've got a way chained up near the amusement park. Come on!"

Within another ten minutes, they had reached the outside of the park. The place was even more busy in the afternoon. Hilbert gave a hard look at the Rondez-View.

"What's wrong?" Hilda asked. "You look kinda angry."

"It's just... I got my ass handed to me right under that ferris wheel by the Team Plasma leader," Hilbert said. "He destroyed me using a fucking Sigilyph, of all things. Anyways, my bike's right over here."

Hilda was impressed at the bicycle, letting out a low whistle. "Damn, that's actually a pretty nice bike. How'd you get this?"

"The daycare man just handed me the key to its lock after I saved him. Probably gonna have to leave it behind when all's said and done in this city, though. Can't exactly carry this thing through the bike-unfriendly areas of this region," Hilbert said, unlocking the bike's chain and stashing it in his bag. The bike had two short, hollow metal bars sticking out of the middle of the rear wheel, so Hilda could stand on them and ride, holding onto Hilbert as he peddled. She carefully got on, and they were off.

Hilbert rode as fast as he could with Hilda's added weight while still being cautious. He made sure his turns were wide, and tried to keep himself in constant motion, as gaining speed from a complete stop due to a traffic light was a pain. Eventually, though, they arrived at the hotel.

"Man, this place kinda sucks," Hilda said as she saw it.

"Yeah, but it's all I could find," Hilbert said. "Will you give me the money now?"

"Oh, sure," Hilda said. She dug through her bag, pulling out her Trainer Card, and tapped it against Hilbert's. "That should be enough for the next three days. Don't waste it."

"I won't," Hilbert said. "Can you wait here while I pay? I need someone to watch the bike." Hilda nodded, Hilbert walking into the building, and five minutes later, he came out. "All done. Should I give you a lift back to the Gear Station?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Hilda smiled. "Thanks."

Once they were standing in front of the building, Hilbert decided to ask something that had been bubbling inside him for the past few hours. He had rather enjoyed his time with the short shorts-wearing girl, and didn't want them to go their separate ways, so he spoke up, asking a question he hoped beyond hope she would say yes to. "Hilda... I've been thinking..."

"Don't hurt yourself," Hilda smirked at him.

"No, I'm being serious here. Would you like to travel with me? I'm on a journey to earn all of Unova's Gym Badges, so would you like to join me?"

Hilda stopped, looking down sadly. "I want to Hilbert, I really do, but obtaining Gym Badges isn't why I'm on this journey- if you can call it that. My goal is to conquer the Battle Subway in its entirety. We've just got two completely different agendas. So, as much as I hate to say this, I can't join you."

"Oh... okay..." Hilbert said, sighing. He looked down at the concrete, despondent.

"Hey, cheer up," Hilda said, placing her hand under his chin and making him look at her. "You're a crappy Trainer right now- at least for the Battle Subway- but you'll get better. And when you are, come back here so we can fight together again. I'll be looking forward to it. Besides, I really did enjoy spending the day with you."

With that, she leaned in, and lightly pressed her lips to his. It only lasted a few seconds, but Hilbert's face was aflame with pink when she pulled away. "Take care of yourself," she said.

"Uh... uh, yeah! You too!" Hilbert said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But, y'know," Hilda said, unfazed by the kiss, "I can't help but feel, in another time and place, our positions here would be reversed... like you'd be the Battle Subway junkie, and _I'd_ be the one on a journey..."

"W-well, a scientist I met in Striaton said there are alternate universes out there, so maybe you're not too far off the mark," Hilbert said, still a little flustered.

"Yeah... Maybe," the girl said.

Then, with one final smile and nod, Hilda walked up the steps into the Gear Station, leaving the boy still staring after her- and this time it wasn't just because of her behind. That had been his first kiss. Finally managing to tear himself away, he got back on his bike, and rode off.

Maybe this journey _wasn't_ that bad, he thought. Maybe the world wasn't out to get him, if fate supplied him with his first kiss. However, soon there would come something that would shatter this naivety to pieces, and fully cement his path down to one of rage.

* * *

 **A/N: So I bet you're wondering now: Do I hate FerrisWheelShipping? The answer is no. It's a pairing of game characters, so I can accept that. Doesn't mean I ship it, but I leave it be and don't actively rage against it. 'Ship and let ship', if you will. However, pairing a game-exclusive character with an anime-exclusive character?** _ **That's**_ **where I draw the line in the sand and put my foot down (and if you hadn't figured that by now going by my past A/N's... well, your intuition isn't up to snuff). I have absolutely no idea why people ship Ash (particularly Best Wishes Ash) and** _ **Hilda,**_ **of all characters. I mean, you saw what she's like in the chapter, she'd kick his ass six ways to Sunday! Both in Pokemon battles and with her own fists!**

 **Also, little public service announcement to anyone writing an Amourshipping story (yes, I'm actually doing something** _ **nice**_ **for you bastards, who'da thunk it?). If you get a Guest review that goes like this or something similar:** (smiles) seems like a very impressive and spicy amourshipping chapter, great job and as a fellow amourshipper i have this to say to you and to all my fellow amourshippers around the globe, amourshipper and proud, remember that dudes and dudettes, and keep up the good serenaandashshipping work dude. **t** **hen I recommend you delete it on sight. I've seen this review on more stories than I care to count (and sometimes multiple times on a single story). Do not encourage boilerplate reviewers, and do not encourage** _ **spammers**_ **, and the fucktard posting this shit over and over** _ **definitely**_ **fits both those categories nicely. Speaking of which, to everyone who reads this who writes in the Pokemon fandom: Block both Farla and her (probable) sockpuppet account, St Elmo's Fire. You'll save yourself a lot of annoyance, trust me.**


	21. Chapter 19: Elesa, The Shining Beauty

**A/N:** **Something amusing I found on a random profile that's been abandoned since 2012:** I hate pop-ups. If you hate all the ads popping up while you're trying to read some story, copy this into your profile. **No, I am not about to endorse that idiotic 'copy and paste if you agree' shit, but rather, point out how stupid this particular one is. If you hate ads, get Adblock. Both kinds. It's that bloody simple. If you don't have them, or worse yet, don't know what it is... what the hell are you even doing online? Get them fucking** _ **yesterday.**_ **And** _ **do not**_ **give me any of that "but it's** _ **unethical!1!11!"**_ **whining. Trust me, there are countless reasons why that argument fails, and after less than an hour of seeing no ads, you'll be singing a different tune, I guarantee it.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

Chapter 19: Elesa, The Shining Beauty

Hilbert stumbled off the final roller-coaster car and out onto the battlefield where he would face Elesa, feeling like he would puke at any moment. He held his stomach, his face turning a slight shade of green.

"Aw, did someone get a little bit dizzy and sick from my roller-coaster system?" Elesa taunted. "Don't worry, my beloved Electric-types will make it worse when they run circles around you! Serves you right for how you treated your friend the other day."

Breathing heavily, Hilbert managed to gasp out, "Woman... you're fucking insane. Who the hell... designs a Pokemon Gym like this!? Oh, Arceus..." With that, his stomach gave up trying to hold in his breakfast, and it came up the way it went down, half-digested chunks of cereal spewing out of Hilbert's mouth as he vomited. Luckily, he spread his legs apart, so none of the stuff landed right on his shoes. As for why he was queasy to the point of throwing his guts up, it all had to do, as he said, with the way Elesa's Gym was designed.

It was a giant indoor, neon-lit, roller-coaster park, filled with straightaways, tight turns, and dizzying loop-the-loops. Not to mention, it was crawling with Trainers under the Gym's employ, all starved for battle after the Gym had been temporarily closed for so long. As such they were particularly fierce, fighting like savages, and Hilbert could barely keep up. The only positives were that his Pokemon had gained a lot of experience, with all but Artemis reaching level 29, and the Trainers gave out lots of prize money, allowing him to replenish his depleted stock of cash.

Because of their level-ups, all of his team members had learned new moves. Drilbur, first and foremost, had learned Rock Slide, replacing Rapid Spin. Dewott had learned Revenge, a powerful Fighting-type move that doubled in power if the user was hit before it was used, which replaced Cut. Herdier had learned the powerful Dark-type move Crunch, and had been taught Strength by Hilbert via Hilda's HM, replacing the weak Bite, and the recoil-inducing Take Down, respectively. Darumaka had finally learned Fire Punch, getting rid of Rage. Sawk had learned Karate Chop at level 25 to replace Rock Smash, but Karate Chop had been rendered redundant by the more powerful Brick Break a few levels later. As for Archen, she had only reached level 28, but that was more than enough to learn Acrobatics, which replaced Pluck, plus Hilbert had taught her the Rock Tomb TM before entering the Gym, taking the place of AncientPower.

Unfortunately, because of the Gym Trainers' ferocity, he had to go back to the Pokemon Center multiple times throughout his challenge (his bike came in really handy here), and each time he had to ride on the roller-coasters to get back to where he was, which did his stomach no favours. In other news, the swollen wound on his face was healing nicely. Thanks to a medicinal spray of some sort, the cuts had been completely disinfected and sealed, but his face would remain tender and bruised for several days to come.

Elesa threw out her first Pokemon of three. "Go, Emolga!"

The Pokemon that emerged from the Poke Ball resembled a flying squirrel. It was yellow, white, and black in colouration, with three-fingered hands, and yellow cape-like flaps connected to its arms. There were circular yellow patches on its cheeks.

Hilbert wiped the vomit from his mouth with the back of his sleeve, groggily throwing out Scrapper's Poke Ball with a groan. Scrapper emerged from the Ball, brandishing his claws and hissing and overall doing a pathetic job at being scary.

The screen lit up to their right, showing their Pokemon's health bars. But Hilbert noticed something different about Emolga's bar. Right next to the green bar, was a blue symbol, indicating the Pokemon was male. He decided not to ask questions, not that he was in any position to as Elesa said, "Ah, trying to stop my Electric-type attacks with a Ground-type? Sorry, not gonna work for long! I have ways around that! Emolga, Quick Attack!"

Emolga jumped into the air, spread its wing-membrane, and swooped down, turning into a blur that sideswiped Scrapper, knocking a small chunk out of his health. "Now use Pursuit!" Elesa yelled.

The Sky Squirrel Pokemon turned around in mid-air, a dark, purplish-black aura surrounding it as it dive-bombed the Drilbur with the Dark-type move. This sobered Hilbert up out of his nausea real quick.

 _No!_ he thought. _I won't let what happened at the ferris wheel happen again! I can't lose! I won't!_ "Scrapper! Stop that thing!"

Scrapper braced himself as Emolga drew near, putting his claws in front of him in a defensive stance, luring the Electric/Flying-type into a false sense of security, prompting it to increase its speed. This was a huge mistake, as just before impact, Scrapper moved in a blur, catching Emolga by the wing-membrane with one of his clawed hands. Scrapper's other claws then took on a metallic sheen, and he struck Emolga across the face with Metal Claw. Though the attack was resisted, doing minimal damage, it knocked Emolga back a ways, giving Hilbert the opening he needed to order his Drilbur to use his new attack.

"Rock Slide!" he yelled.

Drilbur raised both his arms above his head, a glowing ball of energy forming between them. The energy ball then moved to hover above Emolga, who looked at it curiously. Elesa, however, wasn't as stupid. "Emolga, move, _now!"_ she yelled.

The Sky Squirrel Pokemon yelped as Scrapper thrust his arms downwards. The energy ball split apart, forming into several rocks that plunged down at Emolga. It jumped, spreading its wing-membrane, flying toward Scrapper as it dodged falling rocks left and right. Each rock left a small crater in the ground where they made impact.

"Ariel Ace!" Elesa yelled.

Having successfully avoided all the rocks, Emolga's wing-membrane glowed white, and it slashed Scrapper with it as it flew by, knocking his health down to the fringes of green, nearly to the yellow.

Hilbert growled, gritting his teeth. He could feel anger burning within him, like magma bubbling in a volcano. _Gonna have to set up if I want any chance of winning this,_ he thought. "Scrapper, Hone Claws!"

As Emolga circled back around for another pass at Scrapper, he scraped his claws along the ground repeatedly, throwing up sparks each time. However, just as the dull yellow glow surrounded him, indicating a boost to attack and accuracy, he was struck by Emolga. His health was knocked down to the low yellow. One more attack would likely finish him, and Hilbert's best chance at victory, in one fell swoop.

"Make this count, Scrapper! Rock Slide!" he yelled.

The ball of energy formed between Scrapper's uplifted arms again, and this time, he outright threw it over Emolga's head, and rocks rained down on Emolga. Thanks to the boost in accuracy, Emolga could not dodge them, and because Hone Claws had boosted Scrapper's attack, too, the super-effective attack was a one-hit knockout. Emolga's health bar shot down to nothing in an instant.

"Well, I see you're tenacious enough to get past one of my Pokemon," Elesa said, returning her fainted Emolga. "It's just a pity tenacity won't be enough when your Drilbur's out of the way! Zebstrika, get out there!" She threw out her next Poke Ball, and the zebra-like Pokemon appeared.

"Please tell me that's not your strongest one," Hilbert said, almost pleadingly.

Elesa smirked. "Oh, trust me, I was tempted to use it against you for the way you treated your friend, Gym regulations be damned, but I thought better of it- it was against my better judgment, mind you. Now, Zebstrika, finish off that Drilbur! Flame Charge!"

Zebstrika raced for Scrapper in a blur, covering its entire body in flame as it ran toward him. The Mole Pokemon had no time to react, and was hit full-on by the 175-pound Thunderbolt Pokemon. Scrapper was sent flying, landing hard beside Hilbert. His health went down to nothing, the buzzer sounding to indicate a knockout. The Zebstrika let out a threatening snort as an orange aura surrounded it briefly, indicating a boost to its speed by one stage.

"Damn!" Hilbert growled. He recalled Scrapper to his Poke Ball. He grit his teeth. "Alright," he said under his breath, "Let's show this fuckin' bitch a thing or two about power." He grabbed Sensei's Poke Ball off his belt. "Sensei, get out there! Double Kick!"

Hilbert threw the Poke Ball, making sure to put extra spin into it with his wrist. His Sawk emerged, flying feet-first at Zebstrika, only for the Thunderbolt Pokemon to sidestep easily. Sawk landed hard, but jumped to his feet, only to get zapped as Zebstrika unleashed two rings of electricity at him, doing a number on his health bar. Zebstrika then turned into energy as he returned to its Poke Ball.

"What!?" Hilbert yelled. "But that's-!"

"An illegal tactic?" Elesa finished for him, wagging her finger back and forth. "Not in this case. That move Zebstrika just used is called Volt Switch. It lets a Pokemon return to its Poke Ball to trade places with an ally Pokemon after attacking. Speaking of which, Emolga, get out there! Fry 'em!"

She tossed out another Emolga's Poke Ball, and the health bar for it lit up. A symbol beside the health bar appeared as well. This time, it was a pink female symbol.

 _So that's what those symbols are for,_ Hilbert thought. _They let challengers know what Emogla they're fighting because Elesa has two of the damned things!_

Not about to be defeated, Hilbert yelled, "Sensei, Leer, then Brick Break!" Even though Hilbert knew full well the attack would be not very effective, Brick Break was the strongest move Sensei knew. It was his best option at the moment.

Sawk jumped at the Emolga, giving it a swift karate chop across the face, the attack knocking off about a quarter of the Electric/Flying-type's health. However, then Sensei's body began to convulse as electricity ran through it, paralyzing him.

"Oh, did I mention that Emolga has Static as an ability?" Elesa taunted Hilbert. "Now, use Aerial Ace!"

Emolga sped toward the Karate Pokemon, who could not dodge to save his life due to the paralysis. He was hit with the super-effective Flying-type move, instantly knocking him out.

"Shit!" Hilbert cried. He recalled his Sawk with a sour look on his face. He threw out his next Pokemon. "Maru, get out there!" The Discipline Pokemon appeared in a flash of light, brandishing his seashells and growling at Emolga.

"Emolga, Volt Switch!" Elesa yelled.

"Maru, Water Gun! Short, controlled burst!" Hilbert yelled.

Emolga unleashed the twin rings of electricity as Maru spat a high-pressure glob of water at the Electric/Flying-type. The two attacks collided in midair, creating a steam cloud.

Maru immediately took the initiative, running through the cloud and slashing Emolga with Razor Shell, bringing its health down to the low yellow. Luckily, Static did not trigger, and Maru used the opening granted by the stunned Emolga to deliver another Razor Shell, knocking the Sky Squirrel Pokemon out.

Elesa recalled her second Emolga, then smirked at Hilbert. "Well, it seems you've gotten me down to my last Pokemon," she said. "But this is exactly what a proper dramatic, come-from-behind victory needs, isn't it? A dash of danger and a pinch of peril."

"Just hurry up!" Hilbert yelled. "Let's get this over with." He had a plan. It was risky, but it was all he had. If Elesa used a Flame Charge, the power boost it would give to Revenge would hopefully be enough to knock Zebstrika out in one hit. It was unlikely, however, that she would do this, as using a Fire-type move on a Water-type was just plain stupid, and Elesa had so far proven herself to be a competent, intelligent Trainer.

"Fine, you asked for it," Elesa shrugged. "Zebstrika, get out there! Sweep him!" She threw out her last Poke Ball, and it opened in mid-air to reveal the Thunderbolt Pokemon.

"Zebstrika, Volt Switch!" Elesa yelled.

 _Oh, not good,_ Hilbert thought. "Maru, dodge it!" he yelled desperately.

Maru cartwheeled out of the way of the twin rings of electric energy, landing in a crouched position.

"Now use Spark!" Elesa yelled.

Zebstrika surrounded itself with electricity as it charged at Maru, too fast to dodge. The Dewott was hit, sent soaring backwards, and his health plummeted down... but he hung on with a sliver of his health bar remaining.

 _Perfect,_ Hilbert smirked. His face then took on a furious expression as he yelled, "Now use Revenge!"

Maru leapt to his feet as a red glow surrounded him, but this was not the glow of a stat being raised, it was the glow of pure anger. Moving faster than he ever thought he could, he ran at the Zebstrika, and with a battle cry, smashed it in the face with incredible force using its seashells. Zebstrika's health shot down to nothing in a heartbeat. Hilbert had won.

Hilbert nodded to his starter. "Nice job there," he said as he recalled him to his Poke Ball. He then stomped over to Elesa, thrusting out his hand, palm open. "Badge, please." His tone was curt and somewhat rude. "I went through your damned roller-coaster madhouse, and beat you. I think you know what that means."

"Well, fine, you don't have to be rude." Elesa reached into a satchel on her hip and pulled out a Badge that looked like an orange-and-yellow lightning bolt, as well as a TM. "Here it is- the Bolt Badge, as well as TM 72, Volt Switch."

Hilbert placed the TM into his bag, and the Badge in his Badge Case. He went to leave, but Elesa spoke up, stopping him. "Say... you're going to Driftveil City next, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," Hilbert replied without turning around. "What's it to you?"

"Well, the only way to get to Driftveil by foot is the Driftveil Drawbridge, and lately, Clay, the Gym Leader of Driftveil, has been getting pretty antsy about letting people through. Rumor has it that Team Plasma is running a Pokemon-smuggling operation there."

Hilbert's expression became murderous. _Those fucking bastards._ "Okay," he said, turning around to face Elesa. "Now I'm definitely going. Can you get me into the city?"

"I can get Clay to lower the Drawbridge, so yes, I can. I'll meet you on Route 5."

"Sounds good to me. See you around." With that, Hilbert left the Gym, ready to continue his adventure, and crush Team Plasma's operations in Driftveil for good.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's another Gym Leader down. Bit of a warning: I've got a feeling the next chapter will be a** _ **behemoth,**_ **the kind that my injured forearm muscles shiver in fear at the thought of writing down on paper. But I'll do it, and suffer through that pain.** _ **'Cause I like ya a lot. ...**_ **Don't go takin' that too serious. Given how long chapters tend to take me a long time, I will most certainly not have the next chapter done and posted by the time Sun and Moon come out. So I say to you all, farewell for now, have fun in Alola, and I'll join you there come January (can't miss out on those sweet sweet Mythical Pokemon, now can I?). Also, since I have somewhat of an audience now (and lots of reviews that I'd argue I don't really deserve), I'm gonna use my powers of... 'popularity' I guess you'd say, for good, and plug another story that needs more attention: Pokemon: Sapphire Quest, by SunlightShrine. Seriously, only** _ **five fucking reviews**_ **(as of this writing) for a novelization that good? That is** _ **appallingly, disgustingly**_ **low. So go my pretties! Read it, review it, and enjoy! Tell her I sent ya. Chop-chop!**


	22. Chapter 20: Meeting The Champion

**A/N: It's music time again, guys! And boy, oh, boy, have I been looking forward to this. The first theme I have linked on my profile for this chapter is a remaster of Alder's theme by the seriously underrated-yet-awesome YouTuber HoopsandHipHop, and the second one... is pretty much the best version of Driftveil City's theme you will ever hear in your goddamned life, called _Nightfall on Hodome_. I admit, I hate the regular Driftveil theme (I'm not kidding when I say listening to it for long periods nearly drives me mad) but after hearing this for the first time... I was an instant believer. It's so good it's amazing. It's also so catchy it's insane. Hell, it's so catchy it should be fucking _illegal._ In fact, without this theme, I would have no design for Driftveil in this story _at all._ Sadly, not all the songs on that fan album are as good (but they do have some amusing titles- their Team Plasma battle theme remix is called _Team Plasma vs. Zombies,_ for instance) but their remix of Skyarrow Bridge kicks all the ass.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

 **Chapter 20: Meeting The Champion**

 _Alright,_ Hilbert thought as he stepped out of Nimbasa City's Pokemon Center and mounted his bike. _Time to get out of this Arceus-damned city._ He had already checked out of his hotel prior to challenging the Gym, so he was all set to leave. The way out of Nimbasa was northwest, past the city's three biggest attractions, the Small Court, Big Stadium, and the Musical Theatre. He would be pedaling for a while, and his shoes only worked when walking or running, so he would probably be a bit tired by the time he got to Route 5.

 _Here goes nothing,_ Hilbert thought, beginning his ride. He pedaled north for a good forty-five minutes, past apartment complexes, office buildings, and other high-rises, their glass faces staring down at him. The taller buildings eventually gave way to smaller, shorter ones as he neared the two stadiums and the Musical Theatre. These buildings took up several blocks just by themselves, with huge, multi-story parking garages across the street from each of them.

Soon after, he started heading west, past water fountains that wild Pidove and Water/Flying-types called Ducklett alike splashed and played in. Soon he reached the outskirts of the city, the buildings here being nothing more than two-story houses. Past that, the road diverged into two halves, with one side of the road made specifically for cars, and the other side for civilians on foot or bikes. Each concrete path was separated by a waist-high metal guardrail.

At last, he neared the Gate to Route 5. On the other side of the guardrail, he could see a huge gravel parking lot off to the side of the road, with a crosswalk leading from it to the pedestrian path, but for what purpose, he couldn't say.

There was a bike rack just outside the Gate, so he dismounted, chaining up his bike for a final time. "Hopefully this won't get stolen," Hilbert said. He was actually surprised by how not fatigued he was, even after all that riding. While he was breathing somewhat heavily, he didn't feel at all tired. This journey had been keeping him in good shape. He walked into the orange-tiled hallway, sitting down on a chair against the wall. He then realized that Elesa had not given him her Cross-Transceiver number, so he had no way to contact her. Swearing under his breath, he muttered, "Well, nothing to do but wait for her, I suppose."

However, after waiting about fifteen minutes, and with nothing to do but watch the same repetitive messages scroll by on the electronic bulletin board, Hilbert began to get antsy. Another two minutes passed, and after thinking, _Screw this. I'll go on to Driftveil with or without Elesa,_ he got up, and walked out onto Route 5.

What he found there astounded him. While Route 5 _itself_ was nothing spectacular- just a wide, concrete road about five kilometres long- what was _on it_ was. It looked like a giant busker festival, with people everywhere, and performers showing off what they could do. There were a few people battling Pokemon, too, he saw as he walked further down the road.

It wasn't long before he saw a familiar blue jacket and head of black hair in the crowd, being one of the people engaged in a Pokemon battle. It was Cheren. Hilbert was suddenly hit with an urge to run over to his... well, at this point he wasn't sure what to call Cheren, but then he thought better of it. All that would likely come out of it was getting challenged to a battle, and he had no desire for that to happen. His battles with Cheren were getting tedious anyway. However, it didn't matter. The battle finished with Cheren coming out the victor, and the black-haired boy turned around, looking for his next opponent- and saw Hilbert almost instantly.

He calmly walked over to the baseball cap-wearing boy. "Well, so you finally made it here!" he said. His tone took on a more boastful edge as he continued talking. "I'm assuming you beat Elesa, right? Was she tough? Wasn't for me, of course. She just couldn't prepare for what I was packing. I hope you haven't been slacking off with your training, by the way. I got all my Pokemon up to level 30."

"Can you quit the fucking showboater attitude?" Hilbert snapped. "I haven't seen you since the end of March, nearly two frigging _weeks_ ago, and _this_ is how you greet me? For a while I didn't even know if you were even _alive._ For all I knew, that sandstorm had killed you, yet here you are training without a care in the world! What the hell, man!?" Sighing, Hilbert nonetheless pulled a Poke Ball off his belt, walking backwards. "But if it's a fight you want, then you'll get one. Maybe it'll finally beat some sense into that thick skull of yours."

Cheren savagely ripped a Poke Ball off his belt as well. "That's rich coming from you," he hissed. "Don't you think I've forgotten the way you snapped at Juniper. Weren't you the one who told me to show a little respect back in Nuvema? Sounds like someone should take their own advice."

Hilbert's eyes narrowed, and he let out a low growl. The worst thing was, Cheren was right, but that only made him angrier. Having no good comeback, he simply enlarged the Poke Ball in his hand. "I'm really gonna enjoy kickin' your ass," he said venomously.

Both boys threw out their Poke Balls at the same time, revealing a Tranquill on Cheren's side and Sawk on Hilbert's and the battle began. Tranqill was a two foot tall, gray-and-black bird. Its beak was yellow, and there were dark pink markings above its eyes. Its feet were pink and its black talons looked sharp and dangerous.

Right off the bat, Hilbert knew he was at a slight disadvantage, but it was nothing to be too worried about. Sensei's Fighting-type STAB still did neutral damage against the Normal/Flying-type.

Hilbert went on the offensive right away. "Sensei, Brick Break!"

Cheren, however, was apparently prepared for this. "Interceptor, Detect!"

Just as Sawk's attack was about to connect, Tranquill's eyes glowed blue for a split second, and it swept itself to the side, dodging the attack. It then followed up with a quick use of Air Cutter as it took to the sky. The blades of air slashed at Sensei, doing super-effective damage and knocking him on his back.

"Quick Attack, now!" Cheren commanded. In a flash, Tranquill dive-bombed Sensei, slamming into him and knocking him out.

"Shit!" Hilbert hissed. This was officially not good. He had just lost one of- if not his most- powerful Pokemon in the span of less than two minutes. Meanwhile, Tranquill didn't have a scratch on it.

 _Alright, Cheren,_ Hilbert thought, _you won that round. But let's see how well your little pigeon can deal with Rock-type coverage._ He quickly threw out Scrapper. The Drilbur appeared, brandishing its claws. It had almost become a habit of Scrapper's, Hilbert noted.

"Quick Attack, now!" Cheren yelled.

Tranquill quickly dive-bombed Scrapper, smashing into him, the attack doing a fair chunk of damage. Scrapper quickly pushed himself to his feet.

"Rock Slide, Scrapper!" Hilbert called.

 _Oh, shit,_ Cheren thought as the ball of energy began to form above the Drilbur's head. "Interceptor, stop that thing! Do whatever you-"

It was too late. Cheren's command was cut off as Scrapper released the energy ball, throwing it over top of Tranquill. The Wild Pigeon Pokemon squawked as piles of stones rained down on it, knocking it out instantly. Hilbert's Pokedex let out a muffled chirp from inside his bag, indicating Scrapper had gained enough experience to reach level 30.

Cheren grit his teeth, recalling his Tranquill. He pulled another Poke Ball off his belt. _Well, I was hoping to save this for later, but I guess there's no time like the present,_ he thought. "Go, Krokomire!" Cheren threw the ball, and a Krokorok emerged.

Krokorok was basically Sandile if it grew to three feet tall and stood upright. Its colour scheme was identical to Sandile's, right down to the pink on its belly, though there were now scaly, triangular spikes jutting out of its back and tail. The Desert Croc Pokemon let out threatening hisses and growls as it loomed over Scrapper.

Hilbert was stunned. "A Krokorok?" he asked. "What the hell happened to your Liepard?"

"Heh, I stuck it in the PC when I realized how weak it really was," Cheren smirked. "After all, I'm gonna need stronger Pokemon to be the best in Unova, and beat _you,_ and Krokomire here is the best candidate for the that note, let's try a move I'm sure you're well acquainted with. Krokomire, Retaliate!"

"Uh, oh," Hilbert muttered with more than a tinge of worry in his voice.

The Krokorok was surrounded with the familiar- and dreaded- yellow glow of Lenora's signature move as it charged toward Scrapper. The attack connected with incredible force, sending the Drilbur flying back so far he almost landed in the Gate's hallway. " _Damn!"_ Hilbert yelled, recalling Scrapper.

Cheren smiled. The attack had been an instant knockout, as he expected. His smile grew wider as an orange aura surrounded his Krokorok for a second, meaning its attack had been raised by one stage.

"What was that!?" Hilbert cried. "Why did that damn thing's attack go up!?"

"Oh, Krokomire has Moxie as an ability," Cheren said, sounding for all the world like that information was something everyone knew. "Every time it knocks out a Pokemon, its attack goes up by one stage." Hilbert's eyes widened in shock, and Cheren smiled again. "Why don't you just give up, Hilbert? You and I both know there's no winning this one. I mean, you can try and fight, but you know you're going to lose."

"Not a chance," Hilbert hissed. "As if I'm gonna throw in the towel against a _bastard like you!"_

"You might want to watch what you're saying," Cheren said. "You haven't exactly been a ray of sunshine lately, either. So basically, I can throw what you just said right back in your face."

Hilbert's face was growing red with sheer anger, and Cheren's eyes widened. That was _not_ the face of the somewhat apathetic Hilbert he knew before the journey had started. That was the face of a bloodthirsty maniac. The baseball cap-wearing boy ripped another Poke Ball off his belt. "Maru, _get out there!"_ he yelled, throwing the Ball with all his might. His Dewott, it seemed, shared his Trainer's rage, as when it appeared, it bared its fangs, taking an offensive stance with its seashells.

"Krokomire, Crunch!" Cheren yelled.

"Suppress it with Water Gun!" Hilbert commanded.

As the Desert Croc Pokemon ran for Maru, jaws open, with surprising speed, Maru opened his own mouth and shot the familiar high-pressure stream of water at it. With so much forward momentum built up, the Krokorok was unable to twist its body out of the way in time, and was hit, the super-effective, Mystic Water-boosted attack staggering it.

Seeing his chance, Maru ran at Krokorok while it was recovering, slashing at it with Razor Shell... but the Desert Croc Pokemon glowed red when it was hit, hanging on with a sliver of its health. Needing no command, it snapped the shocked Maru up in its jaws, savagely mauling him with Crunch before flinging him away in Hilbert's direction with a jerk of its head.

"Maru!" Hilbert yelled. "Get up! Now!" He breathed a sigh of relief when his starter painfully pushed himself to his feet. "What the hell just happened!? Your Krokorok should have gone down!"

"Hold items are just a beautiful thing, aren't they?" Cheren said, breathing an inward sigh of relief himself. "I bought a Focus Band off a challenger in the Battle Subway. It gives the Pokemon holding it a chance- a small chance, but a chance- to survive a KO hit with one last bit of its health."

Hilbert grit his teeth together so tightly it almost hurt. _Dammit, Cheren's really pulled out all the stops, hasn't he?_ he thought. Either way, Krokorok was only one Water Gun away from a knockout, so Hilbert took the opportunity. Maru's health was seemingly in the mid-yellow, not enough to trigger Torrent, but it didn't matter. The Mystic Water was just overkill. Krokorok was knocked out. Hilbert's Pokedex again sounded as Maru grew to level 30.

Swearing, Cheren recalled his ace in the hole, and threw out another Poke Ball.

Elesa idly looked out the window of the backseat of her car, watching the familiar scenery of the outskirts of Nimbasa go by. Her chauffeur drove at a pace that was slightly above the speed limit, given how she late she was in meeting that Trainer. _Damn that last-minute challenger,_ she thought. _That poor boy in the blue jacket is probably bored stiff waiting for me._ Before long, they arrived at the parking lot near the Route 5 Gate. "Wait here. You know the drill," she said as she got out.

The man simply nodded as she closed the door. She thanked Arceus that she had switched her high heels for more modest flat-soled shoes (yellow, of course), so the gravel didn't pose a problem. She walked into the green building, the attendant immediately standing up straighter as she entered. "O-oh! Miss Elesa! What brings you here? Is there anything I can do for you?" she stammered quickly.

Elesa walked over to the counter. "As a matter of fact, you can. Did a Trainer come in here? Baseball cap, blue jacket, about yay tall?" Elesa motioned with her hand to indicate Hilbert's height.

The attendant thought for a moment. "Um... yes, actually! He seemed to be waiting for someone. Didn't really look too happy, either. He just sat at the end of the hall there for almost twenty minutes, then he went out onto Route 5. You just missed him."

 _Damn._ "Alright, thank you. I guess I'll have to go look for him." Elesa turned around and began walking down the hall.

"You have a good day, Miss Elesa!" the attendant waved after her.

"You, too."

Instead of exiting the Gate, though, Elesa stopped at the end. She was in no mood to get swamped by a crowd today, and apart from cold and/or rainy days, Route 5 was _always_ bustling, despite its small size. She reached into the pouch on her thigh and took out a small pair of pocket binoculars, which she used to scout around for paparazzi to avoid them, scanning ahead. She first saw a few people battling Pokemon off to the left, but didn't see anyone wearing a blue jacket, so she kept looking. A sweep to the right, however, and she actually did see a boy with a blue jacket, but he had black hair and glasses.

 _Oh, right,_ she thought, _HIM._ She remembered that boy. He had challenged her just before the sandstorm hit, and had won, though she did put up a good fight. He had proven to be a very poor winner, gloating to her about his victory and how awesome his Sandile had been and _ooh_ , did it take every bit of her self-control to not just kick his ass out of the Gym personally...

Elesa then realized she was gripping the binoculars incredibly tightly, and that the boy with glasses was engaged in battle with someone. Loosening her hold and regaining her composure, she saw that the person he was fighting was the challenger from earlier. She couldn't see his face as his back was turned, but she recognized the blue jacket and baseball cap. The boy currently had a Drilbur up against his foe's Krokorok, but not for long. She winced as the Desert Croc Pokemon glowed with the yellow outline of Retaliate, sending the Drilbur back so far it landed a mere ten feet in front of her. The baseball capped boy then sent out the very Pokemon that had defeated her, his Dewott. Elesa decided to stay where she was and watch the show. It was interesting, she thought, seeing these two challengers go head-to-head. In fact, they were so evenly matched, she couldn't pick a winner...

The Poke Ball Cheren threw opened to reveal his Servine, like Hilbert had been expecting, and fearing. With one quick Vine Whip, Maru was knocked out. Luckily, like last time, he had the perfect counter in the form of Darumaka, so he threw her out. Unluckily for him, though, Cheren's Servine had learned from the last time, when it was taken out by Makue's Fire Fang, and quickly used Vine Whip, striking the Zen Charm Pokemon. The attack was resisted, doing minimal damage, but it served its purpose of keeping Makue at a distance. Servine kept up the assault, but Makue was far smarter than the Grass Snake Pokemon gave it credit for. Makue dodged the next Vine Whip, and grabbed the vine itself, pulling Servine straight into a Fire Punch. Hilbert's Dex beeped yet again as Makue also grew to level 30.

"What the hell!?" Cheren cried as his starter was instantly knocked out by the super-effective attack. He glared at Hilbert. Hilbert returned the glare with twice as much malice. Saying nothing more, Cheren threw out his Panpour. "Scald!" he yelled.

Panpour opened his mouth and shot a burning hot blast of water at Makue, with the same amount of force behind it as Water Gun. With no time to dodge, she was hit, and knocked out in a heartbeat. Hilbert recalled his Darumaka, and thought for a second on what he wanted to send out next. _Fucker's got me down to my last two Pokemon. I need to knock that Panpour out in one hit, and I'm not confident in Logan's ability to do that. Artemis probably could, but if she gets hit with that Water-type attack, it's over._ He growled. It truly was Electrode Roulette: make the wrong choice, and it could blow up in his face.

"Come on, Hilbert, I'm waiting," Cheren taunted. "Or have you given up?"

"Shut up, Cheren! You're an arrogant piece of shit, and I'm gonna put you in your place!" Hilbert yelled. Wasting no more time, he threw out Artemis without another thought.

To his surprise, though, Cheren's expression changed to one of confusion at seeing Artemis. _He doesn't know Archen's type!_ Hilbert thought. _Now's my chance!_ "Artemis, Acrobatics!" he yelled.

Artemis needed no more prompting. Running so fast she was a blur, she slammed into Panpour, knocking him over, and savagely tearing at him with her talons, pecking him over and over, beating him down without any remorse or pity. It was over in seconds. Hilbert's Dex let out one last _ping!_ sound as Artemis grew to level 29.

"Allizel!" Cheren cried in concern. He quickly recalled the Spray Pokemon, confusing Artemis, who was actually quite enjoying mauling Panpour, and she looked around, eager for more battle. There would be no more battle, though, as Hilbert recalled Artemis to her Poke Ball as well.

Cheren, seemingly not realizing he had lost, reached for another Poke Ball, only for his hand to grab empty air on his belt. "What..?" he gasped. His face twisted in pure rage. "No! No, no, no, _no!_ How the hell could I still lose!? I had every advantage, _every single damn one!"_ He stomped up to Hilbert, jabbing him in the chest, oblivious to Hilbert's increasingly wrathful gaze. "You- you must have cheated somehow! I've never even seen a Pokemon like that! Where did you get it and where did you get the Rare Candies to make it stronger than my Pokemon!?" He scoffed, starting to walk past Hilbert. "I'm not giving you a damn _dime_ of prize money until you tell me!"

Hilbert didn't even turn around as Cheren walked toward the Gate. He just stood there, stewing in his own anger, his breathing getting heavier and heavier. His blood boiled in his veins, like volcanic magma. And once a volcano builds strength, no force on the planet can stop it from exploding. So Hilbert's anger did like a volcano, and exploded. An insane scream of, "RAAHH!" tearing itself from his throat, he charged toward Cheren, tackling him to the ground before the other boy could react, and began punching him in the chest over and over.

" _I. Didn't. Cheat!_ " Hilbert yelled, slamming his fists down with every word. " _You son of a BITCH! Give me my fucking money!_ I won _fair and square!"_

Cheren, through the beating he was receiving, quickly shot his arm up and grabbed one of Hilbert's wrists. Hilbert just screamed like a madman and aimed his next punch at Cheren's face. Cheren's fast reflexes saved him, though, and he grabbed Hilbert's face. By chance, he happened to grab the side of Hilbert's face that was still somewhat injured from the Team Plasma grunt's punch. Hilbert yelled in pain, beginning to withdraw, but Cheren kept up the assault, digging his fingers into the tender flesh, eliciting more agonized cries from Hilbert... until someone intervened, shoving Hilbert off of Cheren.

"That's enough!" A voice cried.

Clutching his throbbing face, Hilbert pushed himself to his feet, seeing none other than Elesa helping a groaning Cheren up. Both boys still had some fight left in them, and immediately made for each other, ready to start swinging, but Elesa stepped between them, releasing an Emolga. "If I have to paralyze you both, I will. Now cut it out! What the hell even happened, anyway? One moment you were battling Pokemon, and the next you were trying to kill each other!"

Both boys launched into vehement defenses of their actions, each one trying to talk over the other. Elesa just sighed, and with a flick of her finger, Emolga sent a small jolt of electricity whizzing past Hilbert's arm. The boy cried out and jerked his arm out of the way.

"What the hell was that for!?" he yelled.

"Consider that a warning shot," Elesa said. "You two had better not try my patience, or so help me, I'll have Emolga zap you both so much you won't be able to move for a week! Clear?" Both boys nodded begrudgingly. "Now," Elesa continued, "Us three are gonna go for a walk. I was planning on driving you to Driftveil, but unfortunately, if you behave like bratty schoolchildren, then that's how you'll get treated. Now follow me."

They continued on for a slow, agonizing kilometre, made even slower by people frequently asking Elesa for a picture or autograph, and she generously complied with all of them. _I take back what I_ _thought earlier about not wanting to get swamped,_ she thought. _Just a polite few here and there- just how I like it._

During this time, Hilbert took out his Pokedex to see if his Pokemon could learn any new moves from their level-ups. Only Darumaka had, and it was the risky Belly Drum, a move which cut the health of the Pokemon using it in half, but maximized its attack. Hilbert denied letting Makue learn it, thinking it was too much of a gamble.

It was to Hilbert's and Cheren's greatest reliefs when a warm, booming voice called out, "Ah, Elesa! What brings you here?" All three turned their heads to see a man with wild red-and-orange hair walking toward them. The man's outfit instantly reminded Hilbert of a Native Unovan chief, or something to that effect. Either way, it was clothing reminiscent of a bygone era, that consisted of a beige poncho with orange-and-red stripes along its edges, and a black stripe in the center, pants that had a tattered look to them along the ankles, and black sandals. The black t-shirt he wore underneath had a high collar. His skin was very tanned, and he had the largest biceps Hilbert had ever seen on a person, rivaling that of some Fighting-type Pokemon. He also had a string of Poke Balls draped over his shoulders, adding to the ornamental feel.

"To put it simply, these two brats." Elesa gestured toward the boys flanking her on either side. "But I could ask you the same question. What are you doing on this little Route?"

"Oh, you know me, Elesa, I just go wherever the wind takes me," the man said. "Besides," he added, letting out a hearty laugh, "I just can't resist a good festival! Now, who are these, er, 'brats' as you put it?"

Cheren stepped forward, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "My name's Cheren, and that piece of shit there is called Hilbert."

Hilbert immediately raised his fists, lunging for Cheren, only to be caught by Elesa. "You wanna go, four-eyes? I beat your ass in a Pokemon battle, and I can do it with my fists, too."

"You only won because you _cheated,"_ Cheren shot back.

"What's the matter, too scared to admit that I'm just better than you?"

The man and Elesa both sighed. "I can see why you called these two 'brats'," he whispered to her.

Both Cheren and Hilbert overheard this, and whipped their heads in his direction. "What was that!?" Hilbert said angrily.

Cheren took the more direct approach. "I'd take you on right here, right now, old man! You're just lucky all my Pokemon are knocked out!"

Elesa narrowed her eyes, her expression darkening. "Not only should I paralyze you for that, I should fucking _electrocute_ you!" she yelled. "Do you have any idea who this is!?"

The black-haired boy flinched a bit. "...No," he said, lowering his gaze. To his surprise, though, the man began to laugh.

"Ah, it's okay, Elesa. They're young, and they'll mature. But that does remind me, I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Alder. I am the Unova Pokemon League Champion."

"Wha-wha-wha... _what?"_ Cheren sputtered through a slack jaw.

Alder laughed again. "I admit, that reaction isn't exactly new," he said.

"Bu-bu-but... what the hell is the Arceus-damned Pokemon League Champion doing goofing off at... at a busker festival!?" Cheren cried. "You should be at the League, leading the Elite Four, taking on all comers, not wasting time doing whatever you feel like!"

Alder tilted his head up, looking down at Cheren in an inquisitive, appraising way. After a few seconds, he broke the silence. "You're quite a judgmental young man, aren't you? What did you think, the Champion just sits on their throne all day every day, waiting for challengers that might never come because the Four have already dealt with them? For your information, I'm not 'goofing off', or 'wasting time'. I'm on... a voyage of self-discovery. And even if I wasn't, the Champion and the Four still get days off every now and again, so I'd have every right to goof off if I felt like it!"

Cheren just crossed his arms and huffed. "Well, I wouldn't take vacations if _I_ was Champion. Which, for the record, is my goal on my journey."

"Hm. I see." Alder said. "Well, traveling knowing the destination you have in mind is a good thing." He turned to Hilbert. "And do you have any particular goal in mind... ah, what was it now... Hilbert?"

Hilbert just crossed his arms and shrugged irritably. "No, I don't. Didn't have one from the start." His tone then turned more bitter. "As a matter of fact, I don't even know why I'm even bothering to continue with this journey. After everything I've been through, I'm starting to think I'm the world's personal punching bag."

"What do you mean, 'everything you've been through?'" Alder asked, quirking a brow.

All the bad experiences Hilbert had had, from getting his cheek cut in Wellspring Cave, to getting captured by Team Plasma, to tripping over the dead bodies on Route 4, flashed through his mind. His brows furrowed. "...Bad things," he said finally, in a firm tone. He clenched his fist tightly, Alder catching the subtle body language.

"Okay, I won't press," Alder said. "Sorry for bringing that up." He turned back to Cheren. "So, do you have any plans after becoming the Champion- _if_ you can beat me in an official League match, that is?"

Hilbert could almost see the question mark above Cheren's head as his face scrunched into a questioning look. "What do you mean?" he asked. "What else is there to do after that? Isn't becoming stronger a goal in and of itself? I mean, did the Legendary Trainers ever care about what they'd do after they became Champion?"

"But is becoming stronger enough of a goal?" Alder asked. "Tell me, did you ever seen the interviews that Brendan Ruby did just a few years back? He said he felt, and I quote, 'lost and tired, like the world had nothing left to offer.' In fact, I spoke with him recently, and he told me those feelings of depression persisted until he married his childhood sweetheart, May."

Cheren was silent, looking toward the ground. Hilbert just rolled his eyes. "Is there a point to all this babbling, and can you get to it?" he snapped. "Because I need to get to Driftveil ASAP."

"The _point,_ you ignorant fool," Alder growled, his patience wearing thin, "Is that there is more to Pokemon than just getting stronger. I've come across many Trainers with the same mindset as this young man here, who aren't necessarily wrong in their way of thinking, but they are somewhat misguided in it. I've helped to show them a better way, and maybe I can with you two as well."

"Good luck," Elesa muttered. "These two have their heads shoved so far up their own asses they can see what they had for lunch."

"Then shall we see if I can remove their heads from where they've placed them?" Alder smirked. "How does a battle sound? Not with me and Elesa, of course, we'd wipe the floor with you two."

"Wanna bet?" Cheren growled. "I'd take on _anyone,_ right here, right now! Including you two!"

Hilbert just sighed impatiently. "Didn't you just say not two minutes ago that your Pokemon were knocked out? Because you _lost to me_ , might I add? You can't battle even though you want to right now."

"It's okay, I have plenty of Full Restores," Alder said, quickly pulling some out of his poncho and healing Cheren's Pokemon. He then did the same for Hilbert. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, "These two young men have volunteered to battle anyone willing! Any takers?"

All of a sudden, it seemed every Trainer on the Route came running toward the four, some having heard Alder's yell, the rest just wanting to see what the commotion was about. Even one lady poked her head out of a trailer that she had- somehow- gotten onto the civilian path nearby to the south. With everyone now swarming around them, each one asking to be the ones to challenge Hilbert and Cheren in an attempt to make a good impression on the Champion, Alder had to hold his hands up, calling for quiet. A hush fell over the crowd at once.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Alder laughed. "Well, that was... enthusiastic! Sadly, unlike me, these boys don't have all day to battle everyone here, so I'm only gonna pick two Trainers at random for a Double Battle with these two. All who still wish to challenge them, raise your hand!"

After a few seconds of discontented grumbling from the crowd, lots of hands shot up. Alder quickly picked two Trainers out, a boy and a girl not much older than Hilbert and Cheren. The two Trainers looked completely exuberant at having been picked by the Champion, walking through the crowd excitedly. The rest of the crowd backed up to give the upcoming battle some breathing room. "How about you two introduce yourselves?" Alder said to the two Trainers he had picked.

The young man shook hands with Cheren, the latter boy seeming a little reluctant if not disgusted at doing so, introducing himself as Billy. "And my name is Sarah!" the girl said, flashing a cocky smile and wink at Hilbert. "Don't think I'll go easy on you!"

Hilbert just regarded her with a cold stare, unfazed. "Fine. Wasn't planning on giving _you_ anything less than hell, either." His tone was very gruff and abrasive. He immediately threw out Scrapper, Cheren following suit with Krokorok.

The two opposing Trainers nodded at each other, and as if they had coordinated this between them beforehand, threw out their respective Herdier right at the same time. Hilbert noted there were no other Poke Balls on their belts. He sadistically grinned inwardly. _Oh, this is gonna be easy as pie._

Alder stepped away to stand beside Elesa as Billy and Sarah started off the battle. "Herdier, use Helping Hand!" Sarah yelled. An orange ring of energy was emitted by her Herdier, which seemed to empower Billy's.

"Use that boost! Take Down!" Billy commanded. The Herdier began a reckless charge towards Krokorok, the other one starting to run, too, fangs bared for a Crunch attack.

"Rock Slide, Scrapper," Hilbert said firmly. Scrapper started to form the ball of energy that would become Rock Slide, but Cheren dashed those plans.

"Crunch on Drilbur!" he called.

"Wha-!?" Hilbert cried in shock, but before he could issue a counter command, Krokorok had snapped Scrapper up in his jaws, biting down hard. A split second later, Herdier rammed into the Desert Croc Pokemon, sending it sprawling and knocking Scrapper out of its mouth in a comical fashion. Given that the boost from Helping Hand drove Take Down's power up to 140 with STAB, it was an instant knockout. Scrapper pushed himself to his feet, but was just as quickly chomped on by the other Herdier and driven down to the last bits of his health.

Needless to say, Hilbert was beyond furious. "What the hell was that!?" he yelled, snapping his head towards Cheren. "You fucking attacked my Pokemon! I thought we were supposed to be on the same fucking side here!"

"What?" Cheren said, recalling his Pokemon. "I needed Krokorok to get the Moxie boost, and your Drilbur was the closest target. I just didn't think it would backfire like it did." Though those words came out of his mouth, in his head he was thinking: _No, I just did it because you're a_ douche.

"How insane are you!?" Hilbert almost screamed. "The Herider was coming _right for us! Of course_ your backasswards strategy would backfire!"

The two continued to yell and argue, Alder rolling his eyes. "Maybe getting through to these two will be harder than I thought," he whispered to Elesa. "They squabble like Pidove over a bit of bread."

"Tell me about it," Elesa sighed. "You should have seen them before you found us- they were in a literal fistfight."

Before long, Billy and Sarah grew tired of listening to their opponents shout at each other, and simply nodded at one another. They commanded both Herdier to use Crunch on Scrapper at the same time, with both Loyal Dog Pokemon each taking a bite out of Scrapper and tossing him away, unconscious.

"Damn it!" Hilbert yelled. "Now look what happened! That's _your fault,_ by the way! Not mine!" He threw out Sawk, causing both Billy and Sarah to pale. "You pull that again, I sic Sensei on _you._ Understood?"

"Alright, alright, fine," Cheren said, throwing out his Servine. With Sawk now on the field, the battle was over in a matter of thirty seconds. The powerful Fighting-type Pokemon defeated both Herdier almost single-handedly, with Servine only getting in a glancing blow with Vine Whip. Sensei gained a quarter of a level's worth of experience from that.

Surprisingly though, Billy and Sarah didn't recall their fainted Pokemon right away. Instead, they ran up to them, petting them and praising them. "You did so well out there, Herider," Sarah said soothingly. "Come back, I'll take you to a Pokemon Center and get you healed up good as new!" The Herdier vanished in a flash as it was recalled to its Poke Ball. Meanwhile, Billy was doing the same.

Alder began a slow yet hearty round of applause as he walked up to them. "Well done! Even if you didn't win, that was a good effort!" He gave Billy and Sarah both a congratulatory clap on the shoulders. "Still, a battle is a battle, so an exchange of prize money is in order."

They nodded, and took out their Trainer Cards, tapping them against Hilbert's and Cheren's with a round of 'thank yous'. Cheren gave a halfhearted one back, but Hilbert just regarded his opponent with an icy silence.

The crowd then started to disperse, Alder turning to the boys. "You see? Those two, despite being Trainers, didn't care a bit about winning. They just wanted to have fun with their Pokemon. What I'm trying to say here isn't to be just like them, but live a little every now and again. Your Pokemon work just as hard for you as you work for them, keep in mind." Alder's face suddenly turned downcast. "And trust me, pursuing power and strength for the sake of it is a very self-defeating path." His tone made it clear he didn't want to elaborate. Hilbert and Cheren exchanged questioning looks. "Just give it some thought. That's all I ask."

Elesa nodded. "That's right. Now, I think we'd best be getting to Driftveil. We'll take my car. It's just at the entrance to this Route." She looked up at the sky, seeing slowly approaching gray clouds. "And we'd better hurry. Looks like a storm's rolling in."

"Finally," Hilbert grumbled, following Elesa as she bid farewell to Alder.

All the way back to the Gate, Cheren had a look of thoughtful discontent on his face, his brows deeply furrowed. Hilbert lightly nudged him on the shoulder. "Something wrong?" he smirked, in a tone that did not radiate concern.

"Shut up. Leave me alone," Cheren snapped back. Inwardly, and though he'd never admit it to Hilbert in that moment, his thoughts were a whirlwind. _Why would Alder act so carefree? He's the Champion. They're the strongest of the strong. That's all there is to it._

Before too much longer, they had reached Elesa's car. "Ah, there you are! I was starting to think I'd been forgotten!" the chauffeur said as they walked up to the vehicle.

"Oh, can it," Elesa said, though her smirk betrayed her true feelings. She rode shotgun while Hilbert and Cheren hopped in the back.

The trip to the Driftveil Drawbridge was completed mostly in silence, with Cheren muttering something under his breath along the way.

"What'd you just say?" Hilbert asked.

"I said I'm not looking forward to Driftveil," Cheren said. "Haven't been from the start. I'll tell you why when we get there."

Hilbert just shrugged, going back to idly looking out the window as the bridge's massive red steel beams came into view. The Driftveil Drawbridge, while lacking the size and _some_ of the majesty of the Skyarrow Bridge, was still an impressive feat of architectural engineering. Made of steel that was painted a bright, raw red, it consisted of two enormous halves that could be raised or lowered, and the bridge was built with such precision that the two sections came together with barely a gap in between them.

As Elesa had expected, the bridge was up, barring anyone from entering or even exiting Driftveil. _Figures Clay would do this, the paranoid old fool,_ Elesa thought bitterly. She whipped out her Cross-Transceiver, hitting Clay's number on the speed-dial list. The device rang a few times, before Clay's face appeared on the screen. "Clay, can you do me a favour and lower the damn drawbridge?" she asked. "I have two Trainers in the car with me who want to get across. Not to mention, there's probably a whole lot of other people who want to do the same."

"Sorry, no can do, Elesa," the Gym Leader on the other end of the line said. "Y'know th' Team Plasma grunts that were smugglin' Pokemon near th' port? Well, we got 'em in custody right now. Th' reason th' bridge is up is t' keep any of their spies inside Driftveil so they can't escape."

"Then maybe they can help," Elesa said. "These two Trainers have been fighting Team Plasma for a while now, and they both beat me. That should tell you how gifted they are right there."

Clay went silent for a moment. Elesa could see his thought process on his face, the cogs and gears in his opportunity cost-driven brain turning. "Well... alright. I'll be at the other side of th' bridge as soon as I can."

"Thank you," Elesa said.

After another twenty minutes of thumb-twiddling waiting as Clay drove through the city to get to them, during which the clouds overhead became ever darker and more ominous, a loud mechanical grinding was heard. "Ah, there we are," Elesa said. "Just sit back and watch the show, boys. This never gets old."

Hilbert and Cheren could only look on in awe as the two massive halves of the Driftveil Drawbridge were lowered with a loud rumbling. They connected right in the middle with a BOOM, shaking the structure slightly. Just then, as the sound faded, Elesa's Cross-Transceiver rang. "Oh, great," she muttered under her breath. "Now what?" She accepted the call, expecting Clay's voice, but instead, another, frantic voice answered instead. _Oh,_ shit _,_ she thought. "D-don't worry, I'll be there as soon as I can!" she said hurriedly, before hanging up. She turned to Hilbert and Cheren. "Sorry, boys, but this is as far as I take you. I've got a TV gig today that I forgot about, and I need to get there now."

Cheren nodded, exiting the car, while Hilbert muttered, "Dammit," under his breath before doing the same.

"Well, we might as well cross," Cheren said. Just then, the first raindrops began to fall, splatting onto Hilbert's cap and Cheren's head with annoying _plips._

Swearing and flipping up his jacket's hood, Hilbert began to run across the bridge, his footfalls making clanking noises on the metal walkway. Sighing knowing he was never going to catch Hilbert thanks to his special shoes, Cheren followed him, albeit at a much slower pace so he could think some more. _I'll prove Alder's wrong by getting stronger and winning against anyone- even him. What happens after doesn't matter. But then, why can't I win against Hilbert?_ Cheren firmly crushed any doubt under his mental heel, just as he had back in Striaton. He looked at Hilbert's rapidly-shrinking form as he ran into the distance. _NO. I_ will _defeat him one of these days. He can't keep winning forever._ As he kept going, the rain steadily got worse, until it was a full-on downpour. At one point, he looked north, seeing an automated lighthouse perched on a spit of land.

The great drawbridge eventually tapered off into a much smaller concrete one with white stone railings, and by the time Cheren had crossed both, he was soaked, Hilbert was already there, and there were multiple red-and-blue flashes of police car lights he could see. There was also a large man in a cowboy hat standing in front of the blockade of police cars, along with a massive Hummer-style parked among them.

From what he could see so far, Driftveil didn't look that bad, though if what Cheren had read online was at all accurate, it would get worse the more south they traveled. For now, though, it seemed mostly harmless. The bridge dropped people off in what seemed to be a lower middle-class area, with decent-but-not-great suburbs and apartment buildings to the north and west. The northern part of the city got gradually more hilly, with a run-down, old building that dated back to the city's founding sitting alone on the top of the tallest hill. Several dozen metres below that, was the Gym. The houses all had ruddy orange roofs and were constructed of tan or dark brown bricks, creating a very uniform appearance. The last thing of note (though he couldn't see it, it was too far south) was the Driftveil Market, a huge indoor farmer's market where one could find several imported goods from other regions, both licit and (so it was claimed) illicit. The all-important Pokemon Center was located right across the street from this building. Somewhere in the city to the northwest, there was also a small park with a statue in it of an old sailing ship's sail, signifying how much the shipment of goods meant to Driftveil.

The man in the cowboy hat walked up to them. "So, yer th' two Trainers Elesa was talkin' 'bout, huh?" he said. "Hrmph! Ya don't seem like much t' me!" Oddly, his accent was nothing like Hilbert expected from someone who dressed like a cowboy. Instead of a thick southern accent, it sounded quite average, with maybe a _hint_ of eastern flavour to it. Cheren didn't seem too surprised. He was wearing a tan western-style vest over a burgundy-brown business shirt, with the knot of a green tie being visible peeking out from underneath the vest. He also had bulky tan riding crops over his jeans. His hair was dark brown, and he had impressive sideburns. Currently, the large hat he wore was doing a relatively good job at keeping him dry from the rain, but at the cost of it getting soaked. "Wish I could offer ya both a warm welcome t' Driftveil, but as ya can see, I got m'self a situation here." he continued. "So yer both gonna hafta wait to challenge me."

"So... you're Clay?" Hilbert asked. "The Gym Leader of this city?"

"Last I fuckin' checked," Clay replied gruffly. "In case you were wonderin' what this blockade is for, it's jus' to make sure no one gets in or outta Driftveil without bein' checked first. Can't be too careful with Team Plasma 'round these parts. We're currently waiting on the cops down at the port to bring the group of Plasma members to jail. Once that's done, I'll be happy t' challenge ya both."

Just then, Clay's Cross-Transceiver rang. He gestured towards Hilbert and Cheren. "Gimme a sec." Hitting the 'Accept Call' button, the police chief's face appeared, looking sheepish and nervous. Anger mixed with anxiety started to boil in Clay's stomach.

"U-uh, Boss..?" the man said. "We kinda lost track of the Plasma grunts... they escaped."

"You...they... _WHAT!?"_ Clay screamed into his Cross-Transceiver, causing the police chief to wince. He was getting demoted for this for sure. Hilbert gave Cheren a look. "Ah... _shit!"_ Clay swore. "I can't rely on you incompetent fuckers for _nothin',_ can I!? At least tell me ya know where they went!"

"They seem to have escaped into the Cold Storage," the chief said.

A look of dread came over Clay's face. "Oh... fuck," he swore. However, looking at Hilbert and Cheren, an idea quickly formed in his head. Raising his voice so the two boys could hear, he said, "Alright, stay on alert, but don't pursue. I'll be sendin'... _backup_ to help ya in short order." With that, he ended the call.

Hilbert got a bad feeling as Clay walked over to them again, seeming to dwarf them with his bulk. "And I think I know the backup I'm sendin'," the Gym Leader said. "If it weren't fer you two, I wouldn't have had to come here, an' them Plasma grunts wouldn't have escaped! So that means, yer going into the Cold Storage to find them! If ya don't do that, I won't let ya fight me fer the Quake Badge."

" _What?"_ Hilbert hissed. "You _bastard_! There's no way I'm going into some Arceus-damned Cold Storage and risking my life for some members of a criminal organization that I couldn't give less of a shit about!"

"Sticks n' stones, kiddo," Clay shot back. "Call me whatcha like, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm holdin' all th' cards right now."

"Uh, Hilbert, can I speak to you for a second?" Cheren whispered. _"Over there?"_ He pulled Hilbert away from Clay by the arm, the baseball-cap-wearing boy just rolling his eyes.

"Okay, first of all, _what the fuck were you saying back there?"_ Cheren hissed once they were out of earshot. "Were you suggesting to just leave those grunts in there to die? Second of all, you may not care about getting the Badges anymore, but I sure as hell do, and I am _not_ gonna let you ruin this for me! We're going into that Cold Storage, and that's final!"

"So what if I was?" Hilbert said venomously, his face darkening in rage. "In case you missed the damned memo, those are _Team fucking Plasma grunts!_ They've done nothing but make our lives absolutely miserable from day one. Of course we're gonna leave them in there. Let 'em freeze, see if I care. Second, when have I _ever_ said I gave two fucking shits about your little lust for power? You can't beat me anyways, so stop trying to play Mr. 'I'm-king-of-the-world'. You can go. I won't. _That's_ final."

Hilbert then began to walk toward the Driftveil Drawbridge, fully intent on leaving behind this stupid, hellish journey. "And you said I was a douche!" Cheren called after him, shaking his head.

Hilbert stopped in his tracks, turning around. "What?" he said slowly, dangerously.

"You heard me. Back on Route 4, after our battle, you called me an arrogant douchebag," Cheren said. "But you've gone beyond that, though. Leaving people to die, _wanting them to die_ \- you're ten times worse than I ever could be. That's just psychotic." He turned to face Clay, who was speaking with a police officer. "And I won't let you have your way. Not this time." Cheren cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "You've got a deal, Clay! My friend came to his senses!"

Hilbert's gaze immediately turned outright murderous. _I'm gonna KILL HIM! That fucking SON OF A BITCH!_

Unfortunately for him, his murder plans were put on hold, as Clay spoke up before he could get to Cheren and strangle the life out of him. "Ah, glad ta hear it. I'll even let ya use my limo, _and_ provide ya with police escort, just so ya don't get caught by traffic."

Without much choice, and swearing a blue streak under his breath, Hilbert climbed into the limo along with a smug Cheren. It was very roomy and luxurious inside the vehicle, with plush black leather seats that one could fall asleep on, and windows that were tinted to provide privacy to the occupants. Hilbert sat opposite to Cheren near the middle. Before the limo started moving, however, Clay knocked on the driver's window, getting him to roll it down. "Make sure ta take it slow, would ya?" he asked. "Let's let them grunts suffer a bit, huh?"

The driver grinned. "I like the way you think, Boss," he said, rolling up the window. He started moving at a leisurely pace, a police car ahead of and behind him.

Hilbert let the warm air of the limo's vents wash over him, drying his soaked clothes. His stomach growled. "Hey!" he called to the driver. "Kinda getting hungry. Is there anything in here to eat?"

"Yep. There's bags of chips and other kinds of snacks in little hidden compartments back there," the driver replied. "Search around for 'em, and dig in."

Hilbert ran his hands over the leather of his seat, feeling a fabric strap soon enough. He pulled on it, and the seat cover opened reveal a small alcove stocked with chocolate bars and small chip bags. Cheren did the same on his side, finding some soft drinks to go along with Hilbert's snack stash.

As they continued to roll through the city munching on junk food, Hilbert looked out the rain-streaked windows. The city outside, he noticed, was starting to undergo a somewhat disturbing transformation. The buildings looked a bit more shabby, and they passed a few more run-down looking shops and such. "What's the deal with this area?" he asked Cheren. "These streets don't exactly look friendly."

Cheren sighed. "This is why I said I was nervous about this place earlier. Did you happen to notice Clay's accent, by any chance? Like it felt out of place with the slang he was using?" Hilbert nodded. "Well, that's because he's not from Unova. He immigrated here decades ago from somewhere out east, struck it rich when he found offshore oil. If only we all could be so lucky.

"Unfortunately, either the geological surveys were wrong, or he was too greedy in pumping it out and exporting it, because the reservoirs are beginning to dry up. This city's built on shipping, exporting, and importing, but the primary export ever since Clay found the oil reservoirs has been crude oil. The reservoirs were predicted to last sixty years at the least. It's barely been twenty-five, and without the oil, this place is slowly sliding into economic hard times. People are being laid off, and the crime rate is starting to go up."

"Then should we be worried?" Hilbert asked.

"I'd just say watch your back," Cheren said. "Keep an eye on where you are, and don't do anything stupid. I just want to get that Badge and move on from here ASAP, and if I have to go through a Cold Storage to do it, then so be it."

They kept riding through Driftveil for another thirty minutes, the extra time taken caused by the fairly lethargic pace of the vehicles. Not that Hilbert _minded_ this- any time to dry off and get warm was welcome, plus, the more time they took, the more the Plasma grunts stuck in the Cold Storage suffered. The thought brought a grin to his face.

"Alright, we're coming up on the port," the driver said.

Hilbert looked out the window, seeing that the city streets had tapered off into a more industrial area, and they were coming up on a short, wide bridge to an artificial island of concrete. His eyes widened at the sight, Cheren whispering, "Oh my Arceus..."

The island was home to a massive shipping port, stretching as far as the eye could see (which, given the rain and fog, wasn't very far). Three enormous cranes lined the southern edge of the docks, used for unloading ships, sentinels on the front lines of world trade. The limo with its police escort crossed the bridge, a bar opening to allow them access. They then took a right, passing stacks upon stacks of shipping containers of all different colours, along with smaller warehouses to allow temporary climate-controlled storage of various goods, before they could be sent off to the Driftveil Market and around the region.

However, the Cold Storage was the largest and oldest of these warehouses, a gray metal monolith with a faded blue roof. The building was nearing forty years old, but its generators kept humming, supplying the interior with the cold air it needed to keep all the frozen goods stored inside cold and fresh. Soon, the limo stopped in front of the building, Hilbert and Cheren stepping out into the cold April rain. The driver rolled down his window. "Hey!" he called to them. "Despite Clay's... uh, attitude, he's just testing you, seeing if you're ready to challenge him."

"Oh, yeah?" Hilbert shot back snidely. "And he couldn't have given us an easier _test?_ Like, maybe a fuckin' multiple-choice math quiz?" With a scoff, he turned away.

"Well... ready?" Cheren said, gesturing towards the entrance to the building.

"Frankly, no, and if we die in there, so help me..." Hilbert trailed off, leaving the threat hanging.

And so they went into the Cold Storage.

* * *

 **A/N: Man, those verbal spats between Hilbert and Cheren are _so_ much fun to write. And if you think that Hilbert's getting kinda unhinged _now,_ just you wait. It'll get far, far worse. Oh, and I think I should mention this, because it's interesting: The Driftveil Port is based on the London Gateway, a massive shipping port located about 20 miles up the River Thames. Granted, I altered it slightly for this to include a few more warehouses (not to mention cut it in half- it's simply overkill huge for what it needed to be in this story). Now, normally I wouldn't do this, but I encourage you to look up some photos of this place, the sheer scale is jaw-dropping. Next time, Cold Storage. As usual, don't expect the next chapter anytime soon, _especially_ because I need to research 9th century AD Mongolia (no, I'm not kidding) for the next chapter of my Shadow of the Colossus novelization rewrite. **


	23. Chapter 21: Freezerburn

**A/N: Well... this is awkward. I do all this work writing these chapters down on paper to get all the errors out of 'em before posting them, and I make one that's been staring me in the face this whole time. Where? The title. _The goddamned title._ Apparently, 'the' is never capitalized in titles. I have since gone back and fixed this metaphorical hole in my pants. I doubt anyone except me would have even cared if I never fixed it, though. Now back to our poorly-scheduled program! Let's watch two young teens stumble around in a cold storage facility while slowly freezing to death! One minor detail I changed from the last chapter, though: The size of the hill the Gym is on was reduced to several dozen metres and not several hundred.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

 **Chapter 21: Freezerburn**

Walking into the Cold Storage was like walking into a freezer. Then again, it basically _was_ a giant freezer, so it was at least an appropriate analogy to make. The Cold Storage was a massive building, and everywhere Hilbert and Cheren looked, they could see shelves upon shelves filled with boxes, as well as shipping containers in stacks of three, reaching a quarter of the way up the pleated metal roof infested with small icicles. The low hum of the outside generator pumping cold air into the building could be heard with acute clarity, and said cold air created a thin, downwards-creeping fog that clung to everything.

The cold squeezed Hilbert and Cheren like they were caught in a vice, their damp clothing doing nothing to help.

"L-let's just f-find those P-Plasma grunts a-and get outta h-here," Cheren shivered.

"Y-yeah," Hilbert said, "L-let's. H-how... c-cold do you think i-it is in here?"

Cheren looked around, seeing a thermometer on the left wall about ten feet away. He walked over to it, looked at it for a second, then called, "S-sixteen degrees!"

"W-well, that's n-not s-so bad," Hilbert said.

Cheren just shook his head. "B-below zero. Celsius."

Hilbert's eyes widened. "O-okay, w-we gotta f-find those g-grunts n _-now,"_ he said.

Cheren walked back over to Hilbert. "I th-think it'd be best if w-we spl-split up," he suggested. "W-we'll have a b-better chance of f-finding those Team Plasma grunts if we do."

"A-agreed." Hilbert said.

Cheren gave a wry grin. "Heh, I th-think that's the f-first time we-we've agreed on something in a while."

"D-don't get used to it," Hilbert said, his face suddenly hardening.

With that, they set off. Cheren turned and walked off to the right, following the wall behind a high shelf that was almost as long as the building was wide.

Hilbert shivered once again. _If I make it outta here alive, Clay's a dead man!_ he thought. Knowing that in this cold he had _maybe_ half an hour until his unprotected extremities became so numb they were borderline useless, he set off as well, going north, towards the centre of the building. He kept his eyes out for anywhere the grunts might have been hiding, and his diligence paid off as his sharp eyes picked up a glint of something sticking out from under a box on the same shelf Cheren had walked behind. He grabbed it, hissing as his fingers contacted the frost-covered object and pulled it loose with some effort.

Quickly inspecting it, he saw it was a jewel case for a TM, with the TM still inside. "I-I'll have to ch-check what this is l-later, a-assuming it still works," he said to himself, stowing it in his bag.

He continued on north, following the wall, the cold seeping through his clothes. Now he was starting to shiver uncontrollably, and he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets in a desperate attempt to preserve at least some warmth in them. However, there was nothing he could do to protect his face, and already, his ears and nose were beginning to tingle and hurt. Off to his right, he could see stacks of full boxes with gaps too small to pass through placed halfway between the walls, forming an impassible barrier.

Up ahead was a path that ran through long shelving units placed horizontal to the wall, so he followed that. His hands stung now, and it felt like tiny needles were being stabbed into his fingers. He hissed and grunted in pain and displeasure, taking his hands out of his pockets for a second to blow on them. It didn't work, and exposing them to the below-zero temperatures sent a fresh wave of pain shooting through his digits. "Agh!" he hissed.

Savagely shoving his hands back into his jacket pockets with a snarl, he kept going, following the wall for the next two tall horizontal shelves, only to discover the third shelf was placed right up against the wall, barring him from going any further. What was worse, he found out as he walked down the narrow corridor between the shelves, was that there was a pile of boxes at the end, impeding him. The path he had taken had been a complete waste of time.

"F-fuck! You-you've g-gotta be k-kidding me!" Hilbert swore, turning around the way he came. He was starting to feel like a Rattata in a maze. A damp, slowly freezing Rattata in a maze. Retracing his steps took time, and time was the one thing he did not have.

Meanwhile, Cheren was having a slightly easier, but no less cold, time navigating through the building. His hands were slightly better protected in his pockets thanks to the fleece of his jacket, but it lacked a hood, unlike Hilbert's, so his head was completely exposed. His ears already stung, his nose beginning to drip mucus without end. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_ he thought. _But there's no turning back now._

The shelf he was walking behind, placed about thirty feet from the southernmost wall, eventually spilled him out into a narrow passageway near the eastern wall. He walked north, past the piles of boxes Hilbert had seen, and lo and behold, turning his head to the side, he saw Hilbert himself on the other side of the building. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he cupped them around his mouth, yelling to get the other boy's attention. "H-hey! Hilbert!"

Hilbert's head perked up at that. Had he just heard his name being called? He looked right, seeing Cheren waving at him from the other side of the building. "Wh-what i-is it!?" he shouted in reply.

"I-I'm gonna try g-going further north! I've g-got a f-feeling the P-Plasma grunts are th-that way!" Cheren hollered back.

"Okay! L-let me k-know i-if you f-find anything!" Hilbert yelled, pointing to his Cross-Transceiver.

Cheren nodded, and then kept going north, moving behind a shipping container, out of sight. Hilbert let out a shaky sigh. At this rate, they would be lucky if any of the Plasma grunts were even still _alive._ Nevertheless, the only other path that seemed open to him led east, in front of the wall of boxes, so he took it.

After traveling east for not too long, he saw what he thought might be the jackpot: A shipping container with both its doors open. He made an immediate break for it, only to discover that it was just full of packaged goods, with no Plasma grunts present inside. _Shit!_ Hilbert thought. To the right of the open shipping container, were two stacks of the things, three high each. Both of the doors of the lowest ones were closed and locked, and Hilbert doubted the Plasma grunts in trapped in here carried boltcutters. By now, his hands had started to hurt from numbness, his ears and face even more so.

To his left was a narrow path that led in between the open shipping container and one of the horizontal shelves that he had to squeeze through, and he ended up roughly where he was when he took that wrong turn earlier, only on the other side of the stack of boxes. There was nowhere to go he hadn't already been but northeast, so he went that way.

For his part, a shivering Cheren was now making his way to the second of the building's unloading bays, which, like the first, was closed. His face was now in very bad pain, feeling like it was on fire, even though he was a far from fire, temperatures-wise, as humanly possible. His hands weren't much better, and as he took them out of his pockets to inspect them, he was horrified to see they had gone completely red. Sure, he was aware of the fact that his hands were slowly growing number and number in his pockets, but to actually see them was quite another matter, and because of this, a new wave of pain was sent shooting through his fingers. "A-ah! Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Cheren hissed, frantically blowing hot air from his mouth onto his digits. It only worked for a second, and the cold came rushing back the moment his breath faded.

Having been walking this whole time, he was now right in front of the second loading bay, and he could see the third loading bay up ahead, but unlike the other two, this one was open, with a shipping container in front of it. He doubted it would be that easy, and the Plasma grunts would be in there. Looking west, he again saw Hilbert. _We just can't seem to stay separated in this damn building, can we?_ he thought exasperatedly. Then he thought, _At this point, we might as well stick together. I have a feeling we're getting close anyways._

"H-Hilbert! C-come here!" Cheren called. The space between them was a relatively wide (for this building, anyway), open area, about sixty feet long end to end, but that distance by no means was the entire width of the building. In fact, it was likely another fifty feet to the wall.

"H-have y-you found them!?" Hilbert yelled back.

"N-no, b-but with h-how m-much we ke-keep running into e-each other, I f-figured we should s-stay together!" Cheren yelled.

Hilbert thought about it for a second, the cold helping him make up his mind faster. _Fine. Might as well._ He jogged over to Cheren, the cold biting at his exposed skin, causing him to wince. "They-they aren't i-in there, a-are they?" Hilbert asked, shivering as he pointed to the shipping container.

"H-haven't ch-checked, b-but I d-doubt it," Cheren replied.

"W-well, th-then, oh G-Glorious L-Leader, g-guide us t-to the P-Plasma g-grunts w-with th-that m-magical s-sixth sense y-you s-suddenly h-have," Hilbert sarcastically said.

"O-okay then, f-follow me," Cheren said. He walked around the shipping container, Hilbert following him. They emerged in the space between a long shelf and the shipping container. "T-There's o-only one p-place w-we ha-haven't l-looked, a-and th-that's the n-northwest c-corner of th-the b-building. I-If th-they a-aren't th-there, th-there's n-no way th-they're in h-here a-at all."

"A-and -w-we know th-that's n-not t-true," Hilbert muttered dryly, or as dryly as he could while stuttering on nearly every word due to his chattering teeth.

They continued following the pathway until it ended, opening up into a wider area. As they approached a forty foot-long shipping container placed horizontally in the far northwest corner of the building, a male voice rang out. _"FOR THE LOVE OF... FUCKING- SHIT! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! IT'S TOO FUCKING COLD!"_

" _Would you shut up!?"_ A woman's voice yelled in reply. "What if there's somebody out there!?"

" _I DON'T CARE!"_ Screamed the first voice. "Better to be caught than freeze in here!"

"Both of you, _silence!"_ an older man's voice cried.

Hilbert and Cheren immediately looked at one another, then made a beeline for the container. "Th-this h-has to b-be it," Cheren whispered. "C-call C-Clay o-on y-your C-Cross-Transceiver, now!"

"H-he n-never g-gave m-me h-his damned n-number!" Hilbert whispered frantically back.

"Th-then c-call th-that s-stupid p-police ch-chief!" Cheren said. "H-hell, call _a-anyone!"_

Hilbert, his hands shaking and fingers in pain, prodded 9-1-1 on his Cross-Transceiver, hissing with each press.

After three rings that seemed deafening and felt like an eternity, the operator on the other end of the line picked up as a voice-only call. "Hello, what is your emergency?" a female voice asked.

"L-listen," Hilbert desperately stuttered, "Y-you n-need t-to g-get in c-contact with C-Clay. W-we're th-the two T-Trainers he sent into th-the C-Cold St-Storage to f-find th-the T-Team P-Plasma grunts, a-and we th-think w-we've found them."

"And where are you exactly in the Cold Storage?" the voice said, suddenly sounding a lot more urgent.

"N-northwest c-corner, a-against the w-wall," Hilbert said. "P-please, hurry. I'm not s-sure h-how m-much l-longer w-we c-can all st-stay in h-here."

"Okay, just stay put. I'll contact Clay for you," the voice said. After that the line went dead.

"H-how about w-we s-soften up th-those grunts b-before Clay g-gets h-here?" Hilbert said, an evil smile creeping across his face despite his shivering.

"A-are you f-fucking c-crazy?" Cheren hissed. "W-we n-need to j-just wait f-for C-Clay. Tr-trying to f-fight th-those grunts would be p-pointless."

Hilbert's expression darkened. This, combined with his tomato-red face from being so cold, made him look slightly inhuman. "Y-you can h-help m-me, or y-you might a-as w-well n-not be h-here. E-either w-way, I'm g-going in."

Wrapping his fingers around one of the bars on the shipping container's doors (which in and of itself hurt like hell due to his half-frozen digits) Hilbert yanked it open. Stepping inside, he found a sight so pathetic he would have laughed had he not harbored anything but homicidal rage towards Team Plasma at this point.

Seven grunts were literally huddled around an old man in purple-black robes- likely another sage- at the back of the container, with an eighth crying in the corner. As soon as Hilbert and Cheren entered, though, he sprang up, running straight for them. "We're saved! Oh, than Arceus..." he cried. Hilbert merely sneered and rolled his eyes. He punched the man in the stomach to make him double over, then slammed his fists on his back to knock him to the floor. Several brutal stomps to the back of his head quickly knocked him out, and likely broke his nose as well.

While Cheren was horrified at this display of excessive violence, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he turned his attention to the still-conscious grunts. "W-well, I wouldn't h-have s-said th-that," he said. "Y-you're m-more 'under arrest' than saved."

"N-no!" the old man stuttered due to the cold. "Two of you, s-stop them! F-for th-the s-sake of the P-Pokemon w-we are p-protecting for our king! Th-the r-rest of you, st-stay w-with m-me! I-I c-can't t-take this c-cold..."

"Yes, Sage Zinzolin!" Two Plasma grunts stood, one releasing a Liepard and the other a Watchog.

"W-wait- p-protecting Pokemon?" Hilbert hissed. "Y-you b-bastards th-think you-you've been fucking... _protecting Pokemon!?"_ Ignorant of the pain it caused him, he grabbed Maru's Poke Ball off his belt and released his starter, knowing this was going to be an intense battle. The shipping container was forty feet deep, but only eight feet wide and eight feet tall, so there was very little side-to-side maneuvering room. "M-Maru, rip 'em apart." he finished. Maru immediately ran for the grunt's Pokemon, brandishing his twin seashells.

"Liepard, Pursuit!" One grunt yelled. The other commanded his Watchog to use Crunch as Cheren released his Servine.

The Liepard ran for Maru and simply jumped over him, then whirled around and slammed into him while surrounded by a dark aura. Maru was catapulted straight into the jaws of the Watchog, who bit down hard on him, then rammed him into the right wall.

"Maru, Revenge!" Hilbert yelled as the Liepard took a retaliatory hit from Servine's Vine Whip. Maru was surrounded by a red glow, springing to his feet and hitting the Watchog with such force it dented the left wall of the container when it hit it. Needless to say, the Watchog did not get up. Shortly after that, the Liepard went down with two Pokemon tag-teaming it.

The grunts returned their Pokemon, now shivering from more than the cold as Hilbert and Cheren advanced, their respective starters ahead of them.

"Now," Hilbert said with murder in his voice. Even the cold seemed not to faze him anymore. "You can all surrender peacefully and cease your Pokemon-smuggling operations, or I'll have Maru turn you into cold cuts. Your choice."

The grunts just whimpered, with Zinzolin giving a more defiant look, and Hilbert was fully prepared to give Maru the order to dice them into salami with Razor Shell, but then he heard someone clapping. "Nicely done, kiddos, but I think I can take it from 'ere," a familiar voice said.

Hilbert whipped around, seeing exactly who he expected to see hearing that voice. "Clay!"

Clay stood in the open doorway of the container. Behind him, Hilbert could make out the silhouettes of police officers. "Yep, that'd be me!" he said. "But _damn!_ Hidin' out in a chilly old place like this... you Plasma goons are even dumber than you look! Frankly, I was worried for ya, 'cause if ya hadn't been found in time, ya'll woulda froze to death! Luckily that didn't happen." He turned to address his police entourage. "Now ya'll get in there and arrest those Pokemon robbers! And don't fuckin' let 'em go this time, or you're all fired!"

The cops, spurred on by the threat of losing their jobs, leapt into action with ruthless, mechanical efficiency, handcuffing the grunts and Zinzolin and pulling them out of the container with some protesting. The unconscious grunt with the broken nose was handcuffed and unceremoniously dragged away.

Once they were gone, Clay walked up to Hilbert and Cheren. "Well, looks like I should've never doubted you two. Job well done, boys! Now let's get outta this place. Ice and a Ground-type user like me... we don't get along."

"J-just o-one q-question," Cheren said as they walked out of the shipping container, "H-how'd you get here so fast?"

"Kiddo, I was outside the building since you were probably still finding those grunts," Clay said. "I was just waitin' outside with Driftveil's... uh, 'finest' 'til we got word from you. Sorry for not givin' either of you my Cross-Transceiver number by the way... kinda slipped my mind."

"A-and what w-will happen t-to the g-grunts?" Hilbert shivered. The rage he was in had cooled off, and so the cold was seeping back, making his teeth chatter.

"Oh, they'll be thrown in jail with no trial or chance for bail or parole," Clay said. "Just ain't worth wastin' the time with a trial, given how it's obvious they're all guilty."

"G-good," Hilbert muttered. "Th-that bunch is n-nothing more th-than a w-waste of f-fucking oxygen. I'd kill them all myself if y-you'd l-let me."

Cheren's eyes widened at that, but Clay merely smirked. "I don't blame ya. Now, who's up for warmed-up MooMoo Milk, fresh from the market? It's on me."

Exiting the Cold Storage, Hilbert and Cheren each grinned to themselves. MooMoo Milk was a drink from Johto that had be imported to Unova. Having never had it warm before, they could only imagine how good it would taste. However, soon they would get another unpleasant, chilly surprise, one that cause Hilbert's anger to finally boil over.

* * *

 **A/N: The things I do for you people... While I _have_ experienced below-zero temperatures with no hand protection before, cold isn't isn't easy to describe if you yourself are not feeling it. Hence why I spent most of the time writing this chapter blasting myself with two fans. Anyways, I just might stop writing chapters on paper by hand as of this one. I think I've improved to the point where anything I could do with the paper copies is nothing I couldn't do by just going over the digital copy a few times. Plus, all that hand writing was probably putting me on the fast-track to carpal tunnel, so this is likely for the best. We'll see, though. (Although I gotta admit, I am sad I won't have a hand written copy of this story which will more than likely be over 200,000 words if it gets done, if only for the sheer novelty of it). See you next time! But oh, God... am I _dreading_ Twist Mountain more than ever now... **


	24. Chapter 22: Clay, the Underground Boss

**A/N: Before starting this chapter, I re-read an article about how, back in 2014, MySpace (yeah, anyone above a certain age remember that?) was sending out emails to members who had long since abandoned their profiles. The emails, shockingly enough, contained pics from those people's profiles, with the line: "The good, the rad, and the what were you thinking...". Makes me wonder if people who've long abandoned their profiles on FFN will come back someday (and promptly start deleting everything on their profiles out of sheer mortification). Also, fun fact: This was one of the first battles I envisioned when mapping out the story in my head.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

 **Chapter 22: Clay, the Underground Boss**

Hilbert took the warm MooMoo Milk into his shivering hands gratefully, letting the blessed heat wash over his hands. He brought the jar to his lips and took a sip, finding it delicious. Clay had told them to not gulp it down, as that would lower his and Cheren's core body temperature, something they needed to keep up right now. The rain had stopped earlier, while they were in the Cold Storage, leaving a damp Driftveil in its wake. The time was now nearing evening, with the sky turning an orange-red hue.

He, Cheren, and Clay were currently inside the bustling Driftveil Market, full of vendors selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables, fresh from Mistralton and imported from elsewhere. The Market truly had it all. Hilbert wouldn't have been surprised if the rumors about the place selling illegal goods were true. Clay was standing off to the side, talking to a police officer. The Plasma grunts and Zinzolin were in custody near the Gym. Suddenly, Clay's Cross-Transceiver started ringing. "Yeah, what now?" the Gym Leader asked.

"We got a, uh... situation, boss," the police officer on the other end of the line said. "We need you to get down to the Gym, ASAP."

Clay just groaned, shutting off his Cross-Transceiver without another word. He walked over the two boys that were still taking small sips of their milk. "Sorry, kiddos, but we gotta cut this shoppin' trip a bit short," he said. "We're goin' to the Gym."

The three of them walked out of the Market, entered Clay's Hummer-limo, and drove north to the hilly riverside area the Gym was situated on. As they approached, Hilbert could clearly see gray vans marked with the familiar, and hated, symbol of Team Plasma, and he could also make out several dozen grunts, far outnumbering the police there. Both sides had their Pokemon out, standing off with each other, but it was clear the Plasma grunts would win hands-down if it escalated into a fight. He cursed under his breath, Cheren following suit when he saw it, too.

The limo stopped in front of the Gym, Clay stepping out of the vehicle first, followed by the two boys. "What th' hell is goin' on here!?" he yelled.

"Ah, so there you are, Clay. I was wondering if the Gym Leader would show up here or not," a man said, stepping out of the line of grunts. "Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you."

" _Ghetsis,"_ Hilbert growled murderously.

For a second, Ghetsis's uncovered eye seemed to flash in angry recognition as he glanced at Hilbert, but then he turned his attention back to Clay. "I am here to see to the release of my associates. As you can see, neither Team Plasma nor myself takes it kindly when members of the organization are threatened. I don't want this to escalate into violence, but if you don't let those you have in custody go... I can't make any promises."

"Well, I sure as hell don't want that, either," Clay said. "But the fact is, yer buddies here were stealin' folks' Pokemon and tryin' ta smuggle 'em outta Unova. To where and why, I don't know, and I don't really care, but still. We even have some security footage of it, if ya wanna see."

"And what does that prove?" Ghetsis rebutted without missing a beat. "Did you ever think that perhaps those Pokemon were stolen from Trainers that treated them poorly and abused them, and Team Plasma was simply trying to get them to better homes somewhere else? That's what Team Plasma is dedicated to, after all."

" _Liar!"_ Hilbert yelled. "Team Plasma steals Pokemon from _anyone,_ regardless of how their Trainer treated them! Cheren, you remember Wellspring Cave, don't you!? Two grunts stole a little girl's Purrloin!"

Cheren thought for a second, dredging up the memory, then spoke. "O-oh yeah! On Route 3, right? They did, but we fought them off."

"And what proof do you have of this?" Ghetsis asked. "Without evidence, anything a child like you says means nothing."

Hilbert growled, wracking his brain. The cut on his cheek had long since faded and not left a scar, since it wasn't very deep, and besides that, there were an endless number of ways Ghetsis could claim he got a scar even if there was one.

Ghetsis took Hilbert's growls but otherwise silence as all the confirmation he needed. Grinning victoriously, he turned his attention back to Clay. "Now, since that boy wasted my time and tested my patience, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make an ultimatum, Clay. Release those Team Plasma members or there will be violence. Think carefully, keeping in mind there are many, _many_ more members besides those that are here..."

"Are you seriously gonna let him blackmail you like this?" Cheren whispered in Clay's ear.

"Yep, much as I don't like it," Clay whispered back. "Sometimes, ya just gotta know when ta fold 'em."

Still, to Clay's credit, he put on a show of reluctance, taking a solid minute to 'think', purely to spite Ghetsis. The green-haired man was clearly trying to hide his anger, making Clay suppress a smirk. Finally, he spoke up. "Hrrmph!" he grunted loudly. "I guess you've won this without a fight. Take yer grunts and get the fuck outta my city. However, if I _ever_ see so much as a _hood_ from one of yer underlings in Driftveil again, I'll personally have my Excadrill tear their guts out! Clear!?"

Ghetsis gave a subtle nod of his head. "A decision worthy of a businessman known as the Miner King" Cheren snorted in amusement at hearing the title, but a glare from Clay shut him up.

Clay then turned to the police officers. "Ya'll ain't deaf, let the grunts go!" he ordered. Hilbert's expression was growing angrier and angrier as he heard the metallic clinking of handcuffs being unlocked, and saw Zinzolin and the grunts- even the one whose nose he had broken- walk freely towards Ghetsis and his platoon of Plasma grunts.

Zinzolin practically collapsed at Ghetsis's feet. "Ghetsis... thank you so much," he muttered in complete relief. "I thought we were going to die in that Cold Storage... and when we were captured..."

Ghetsis made a sweeping motion of his arm, putting it around Zinzolin's shoulders. "Worry not, my fellow servant of the king," he said, but then in a lower voice, whispered, "But don't let this happen again. This is the second time I've had to bail one of you out. You don't want to know what will happen should there be a third."

Zinzolin simply nodded.

"Now then, I think it's time we set off," Ghetsis said. "Grunts, mount up. We're leaving."

As the grunts filed into the vans, Ghetsis nodded to Clay. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll trust we'll meet again somewhere." Then he stepped into a van with Zinzolin and they were gone.

As they sped away from the Gym, Ghetsis steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on his thighs, thinking. "Something on your mind?" Zinzolin asked.

"Yes," Ghetsis replied. "Did you happen to notice the boy in the blue jacket with the baseball cap?"

"Yes, I did," Zinzolin replied. "He seemed quite... short-tempered."

"His name is Hilbert, and he's been a thorn in my side for a while," Ghetsis said. "I commanded N to deal with him in Nimbasa. Obviously, he failed, the useless brat. And even more obviously, more... extreme measures need to be taken to remove him. I'll contact the Shadow Triad shortly. We'll have something planned for him in Chargestone Cave, and this time... he will not make it out alive."

Meanwhile, back at the Driftveil Gym, Clay shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, boys. I know how hard you worked to capture those grunts, but I had no choice. Though, I'm a man of my word. Maybe a Pokemon battle will cheer us all up!"

Hilbert, who had been trying (and mostly failing) to keep his anger in check when Ghetsis sped off, finally exploded.

" _NO!"_ he yelled, stabbing his index finger at Clay. "An apology's not good enough! After me and Cheren busted our asses and risked our lives to capture those grunts, you get cold feet and let them go!? You're a stupid, idiotic prick, Clay, and you need to be taken down a peg or two! And I'm the one who's gonna do just that! So when you fight me tomorrow..." he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again, blazing with anger and determination, "You fight me with the strongest Pokemon you're legally allowed to with the number of Badges that I have, and I'll beat every single one of them!"

Clay was silent for a second, stunned that the young man would make such a bold move. Then he began to laugh. "I'll give ya this, kiddo: Ya got balls of steel. Fine, though. If that's how you want it, that's how yer gonna get it. Just don't say I didn't warn ya when yer sent cryin' home to mommy."

"We'll see about that, you fucking _bastard!_ " Hilbert shouted, drawing some looks from the remaining police. Clay just laughed more as he walked into his Gym.

Cheren grabbed Hilbert's shoulder, spinning the seething boy around to face him. "Are you insane!?" the black-haired boy yelled. "Do you have _any idea_ what kind of gauntlet you've just thrown down!?"

"Get the _fuck_ off me," Hilbert snarled, shaking himself loose from Cheren's grip. "And what the hell makes you think I give a shit!? He needs to be taught a lesson, and I'm the one who's gonna do just that!"

"Did you forget how Gym Leaders worked all of a sudden there, Hilbert?" Cheren said quickly. "They _scale_ their Pokemon's levels and how they battle according to the number of Badges a given challenger has! They're trying to _test you,_ not crush you! But what you've just done, is give Clay full-on _permission_ to crush you! You're an _idiot!"_

" _You want me to beat you up like I did on Route 5!?"_ Hilbert roared, causing Cheren to shrink back slightly. "Keep talking, and I _sure as shit WILL!_ You still owe me from that battle, by the way! When were you planning to pay me, huh!?"

"How about _never_?" Cheren growled, narrowing his eyes. "You're blind, Hilbert. You're turning into a monster, and you don't even realize it." He began to walk away, saying over his shoulder, "I'm going back to the Pokemon Center, then I'll spend tomorrow training. Have fun getting your ass kicked by Clay then."

At that moment, Hilbert wanted nothing more than to run after Cheren, tackle him to the ground, and bash his skull against the concrete until it split open. He even took a few steps forward, then stopped. _No. He's not worth it... yet. Much as he likes to delude himself into thinking he can, he'll never beat me, no matter how much training he does._

The sun had set by the time Hilbert made it back to the Pokemon Center, but much as he wanted to, he couldn't turn in right away, as he needed to wash his clothes and shower. While doing the first, he took note of the fact that the white part of his hat was turning a dirty shade of yellow-brown from hair grease and general accumulated dirt. Likewise, his jacket was beginning to fray along some of its edges from how much hell he had put it through since he bought it in Nacrene. His jeans and shoes were holding up well by comparison, save for a few muddy stains on the shoes. Still, it wouldn't do him any harm to buy a new pair of pants, and he made a mental note to do so once he reached the next city, which, according to his map, was Mistralton. At least the cuts on his face were almost gone. In a few days, they probably would disappear completely.

It was halfway past ten by the time he finally collapsed into bed, falling asleep shortly.

The next morning, Hilbert went to the Driftveil Market to get breakfast, given the selection there was far wider than the Pokemon Center. He bought a bag of dried peach slices from a stall, proceeding to munch on them while meandering through the building. A few times, he overheard people complaining about the economic situation in Driftveil, and a lot of it was rather interesting information. Apparently, people were engaging in Pokemon battles near the port to earn some money, as illegal as battles in that area were.

 _Might not be a bad idea to join in on some of those battles myself,_ Hilbert thought. _For as much an ass as Cheren is, he's right- I shouldn't underestimate Clay._

He finished his breakfast and left the Market, catching a cab to the port. In spite of their illegality, the battles weren't that hard to find. They took place in behind the rows of shipping containers, away from surface-level prying eyes, but anyone who did a bit of searching could sniff them out with ease. Hilbert spent the next two hours fighting anyone foolish enough to challenge him, which was quite a lot of people. His Pokemon grew by leaps and bounds in terms of levels, the TM he had found in the Cold Storage proving an enormous help in winning battles. The disk was TM55, Scald, a powerful Water-type move with 80 base power and a chance of burning the opponent on top of that. He was delighted with the move, teaching it Maru on the spot, finally replacing Water Gun.

In terms of levels and other moves his Pokemon had learned, Maru had grown to level 33, and learned no new moves. Logan grew to level 31, just one level away from evolving into Stoutland. At level 29, he tried to learn the borderline useless Roar, which Hilbert had obviously passed on.

Artemis had grown to the same level, and learned DragonBreath, replacing Agility ( _any_ attack was better than a stat boosting move she really didn't need to get by). Sensei also grew to level 31, but learned nothing new. Makue grew to level 32, and also learned nothing new.

Finally, Scrapper had grown to level 32, and actually attempted to evolve into Excadrill, only to be stopped by the Pokedex sending out an evolution-canceling pulse at Hilbert's command. The reason he did this was because he read online that Drilbur learned Earthquake at level 33, as opposed to Excadrill, who learned it later at level 36. Hilbert still kept the Experience Share on him for now, but knew Scrapper would soon have no use for it.

"Damn it!" his last opponent of the day cursed as he begrudgingly tapped his Trainer Card against Hilbert's. "You better watch out, kid," he said under his breath as they pulled the cards apart. "I've got friends who'll kick your ass and get that money back and then some."

Hilbert just narrowed his eyes, releasing Maru from his Poke Ball. The Discipline Pokemon, without needing a command, gave the man a nice slash across the front of his right thigh, his seashells biting deep. As the man screamed in pain and clutched at his leg, Hilbert punched him in the face.

"I'm sorry, what was that you just said?" Hilbert asked rhetorically, his tone dripping with condescending sarcasm. "Wasn't a threat, was it? Nah, couldn't have been, 'cause you're sure as hell not bleeding on the ground right now. Oh wait, yeah it was, and yes you are."

He recalled Maru and began to walk away, leaving the man still holding his bleeding leg, unable to get up. "W-wait! You-you're just gonna leave me here!? I don't have a Cross-Transceiver! I can't call for help!"

Hilbert just stopped, looking coldly over his shoulder. "Not my problem. Maybe next time you'll think twice about what you say." He then continued on, leaving the man to scream obscenities after him, all of which he ignored.

Getting back to the Gym via cab didn't take too long. By the time he got there, it was about eleven o'clock in the morning. After paying for his ride, he stepped into the building. Inside was what looked like the lounge of a fancy skyscraper. Underfoot was a burgundy carpet that stretched the almost the length of the room, with plush couches and chairs placed around a table that was polished to a mirror-like finish off the right. A secretary was typing on a laptop behind a desk to his left. She looked up as he entered.

"Oh, are you the challenger Clay expected today?" she asked.

Hilbert walked up to her and nodded. "Yes, I am. Where's Clay?"

"Oh, silly me! I forgot to activate the lift," the woman answered. Just as Hilbert was about to ask what the hell that meant, she hit a button underneath her desk, and two metal plates in the floor, right where the carpet ended, split open and retracted, revealing another platform under them. Two more panels emerged from the newly-unveiled platform, each bearing a touch panel with a coloured arrow on them. The right arrow was green and lit up, pointing downwards, while the one on the left was red and pointed up. Unlike its twin, the arrow was dark.

"That lift should take you right down to Clay," the secretary said with a smile. "He likes to battle challengers deep underground. It's his way of reminding himself that he started with nothing."

Hilbert just rolled his eyes, and without another word, walked towards the platform, and touched the green, lit-up arrow. With a sudden lurch, the platform started descending. In seconds, he was below the surface of Driftveil City, going down into the bowels of the hill the Gym was built on.

The ride wasn't that long, and after descending about sixty feet, the platform stopped, and Hilbert stepped off into a dark chamber that he could still tell was cavernous.

"Well, so you've arrived!" a familiar voice called out, and without warning, every light in the chamber came on, blinding Hilbert for a few seconds. When the spots cleared, he could make out that this place was clearly a Pokemon battle arena, judging by the huge rectangular outline with a Poke Ball symbol in the centre painted onto the dirt. The health bar screen- easily the largest one Hilbert had seen so far- was placed up on the left wall.

Clay stood at the south end of the arena with his arms crossed. "Good thing, too," he continued. "I was gettin' antsy. Just so yer aware, all three of the Pokemon I'll use to fight ya are level 35. You ready to rumble? Or do ya wanna back out?"

Hilbert stepped onto the battle arena, grabbing a Poke Ball off his belt. "Oh, I'm ready, you son of a bitch. Question is, are _you_ ready to lose?"

Clay just smirked. "Then let's get to it. Krokorok, get out there!" With a flash of light after the Poke Ball was thrown, the Desert Croc Pokemon appeared.

"Go, Sensei!" Hilbert yelled, tossing out the Fighting-type. The health bar screen came to life as both Pokemon stared each other down.

Hilbert made the first move. "Use Brick Break!"

Sawk immediately dashed for Krokorok, winding his arm back to deliver a devastating punch, but Krokorok simply sidestepped, giving Sawk a Brick Break of its own, sending him stumbling and taking a sizable chunk off his health bar. Hilbert ignored the damage, merely ordering Sensei to use Double Kick as the Fighting-type got to his feet.

Sensei turned on his heel, lashing out a foot. The attack caught Krokorok off guard, and Sensei's heel smashed it in the face, knocking it to the side. However, as Sensei spun around again, getting ready to deliver a kick with the other leg, Krokorkok hissed and grabbed it. "Now, Shadow Claw!" Clay called.

With its claws glowing purple, Krokorok slashed Sensei across the chest as it let go of his leg, sending him flying backwards towards Clay's side of the arena. His health bar was knocked down to halfway. By contrast, Krokorok had only lost a small chunk from the kick.

"Now do ya see yer way in over yer head?" Clay sneered. "I've taken the liberty of teachin' this team some TM and move tutor moves, just fer you!"

To Clay's surprise though, Hilbert actually started chuckling. "You sound just like Cheren," he smirked. "And do ya wanna know how well his battles with me have gone?" The boy's eyes suddenly turned wrathful. " _He's lost to me every single time!_ Now, Sensei, Leer, then Brick Break!"

The Karate Pokemon shot to his feet as Krokorok whipped around and hissed. This turned out to be a mistake, as Sensei's eyes glowed red, freezing it in place. Sensei then dashed toward it, giving it a punishing chop to the side of the neck. Krokorok's health bar shot to nothing from the super-effective hit. Hilbert's Pokedex chirped as Sensei gained a level.

"Hmph, so ya managed ta get by my Krokorok, but that doesn't mean anything," Clay said as he recalled his fainted Pokemon. "I've still got two left. Next up, Palpitoad! Go!"

Clay threw out his next Poke Ball, and one of the strangest Pokemon Hilbert had seen up to this point, barring Sigilyph, appeared. It looked vaguely like a toad, albeit one that stood upright on two legless, three-toed feet. Its body was ovoid and mostly blue, but it had a tan patch lined with a black stripe going all the way from its belly to its beady round eyes, and it had a small white tail. Its most prominent feature were the light blue bulges around its head, looking almost like inside-out sub-woofers or old-fashioned school bells.

 _Well that's definitely a Water/Ground-type,_ Hilbert thought.

"Scald, now!" Clay yelled.

Palpitoad opened its mouth and shot a high-pressure stream of burning hot water directly at Sensei, far too fast to dodge. He yelled in pain as the boiling liquid made contact with his rocky skin, driving his health bar down to nothing.

"Dammit!" Hilbert cried, recalling his Pokemon. _And Sensei was my best option against Water-types, too,_ he added to himself. _I've got no Grass-type coverage anywhere on my team._ Suddenly, he felt very, very uncertain about his chances of victory.

Clay could see the hesitation in Hilbert's face, and he smirked again. "Still sure yer gonna win?" he jeered. "Like I said before, anytime ya wanna give up is a good time."

"Shut up!" Hilbert yelled back. _Fuck it then, next-best option. Can't hit it super-effectively, we'll hit it neutrally._ He grabbed Maru's Poke Ball off his belt and threw him out.

"Scald!" Hilbert and Clay yelled simultaneously.

Both Maru and Palpitoad opened their mouths and shot burning streams of water at each other, which collided in mid-air, making a cloud of obscuring steam. Without waiting for a command, Maru raced through the steam cloud as Palpitoad attempted to locate its foe. It was given a nasty surprise when it felt Maru slash it across the face with Razor Shell.

The attack did good damage, enough so that it would be a three-hit KO at least. Palpitoad was knocked back a few feet, landing on its back. Maru stayed on the offensive, slashing with Razor Shell, but Palpitoad was easily able to dodge by simply rolling out of the way, and was able to do so seemingly with no effort. Without warning, it launched a ball of regurgitated sludge from its mouth into the air, arcing it so it hit Maru dead-on. The Sludge Bomb attack drove Maru's health bar down to the low green, but luckily the chance to poison did not activate. Maru was sent staggering back, shaking toxic sludge out of his fur while Palpitoad hopped to its feet.

The Vibration Pokemon then followed this up with a Scald, but Maru just barely dove out of the way, landing awkwardly on his stomach, and as such was hit by another Scald, driving his health down even further, to the mid-yellow. The burn chance, much like the poison chance, did not trigger.

 _Damn, I'm getting lucky with those secondary effects,_ Hilbert thought.

Maru painfully pushed himself to his feet, launching a Scald at Hilbert's command, hitting Palpitoad before it had a chance to dodge, lowering its health to slightly above the mid-yellow. Palpitoad retaliated by barfing up another Sludge Bomb, but this time, Maru was ready, easily moving out of the way of the powerful but slow-moving projectile.

Now angry, Maru ran towards Palpitoad, slashing at it with Razor Shell over and over again, all of which Palpitoad dodged. He wasn't doing any damage, but the constant onslaught prevented his opponent from making a counterattack. This stalemate kept up for a full minute, Hilbert trying to think of something.

 _Gonna have to get creative here if I wanna beat that thing,_ Hilbert thought, a bead of nervous sweat running down his temple. _What can I do- wait. That might be worth a shot._ "Maru, Fury Cutter!" he yelled.

After executing another slash with his shells, Maru suddenly put them both back on his hips. Palpitoad made a strange breathing noise, almost like it was laughing, but that was quickly stopped when Maru's claws ripped across its face, taking a small chunk out of its remaining health. Maru then did it again, taking another, larger chunk off the bar.

"Palpitoad, you idiot!" Clay yelled. "Get outta there!"

It was too late, though. Maru kept clawing the Vibration Pokemon over and over, increasing Fury Cutter's power to overkill levels. In the end, Palpitoad was left a wheezing, beaten mess, and Maru was about to slash his already-downed enemy before it was recalled by Clay. Maru hissed in Clay's general direction, causing the Gym Leader to give him a look before he said, "Well I'll be! You actually got me down to my last Pokemon! But it's too bad for you this'll be the one ta screw you over. Excadrill, get out there!"

Hilbert's Pokedex chirped twice as Clay threw the Poke Ball, but thought nothing of it, assuming Maru had just gained two levels.

In a flash of light, the true, two-foot tall terror of Clay's team emerged... Excadrill. Excadrill, despite its diminutive height, was a very threatening presence on the battlefield. It was mostly dark brown, with three red splotches on its belly that somewhat resembled army camo. More red spots adorned it on its arms, knees, and just behind its face. Its face was thin, narrow, and white, ending in a pink nose. A massive blade extended from its forehead, one twice as long as its face and topped with two smaller blades like shark fins. Its arms were thick, wide, and ended in huge, deadly claws that were much bigger than a Drilbur's.

"Bulldoze!" Clay yelled.

Excadrill raised its arm and plunged one of its arms into the ground, sending out a shockwave that headed towards Maru with frightening speed. He was hit before he could even start to run, his health bar shooting down to nothing and sending him flying. He landed hard in front of Hilbert, breathing painfully. Hilbert quickly recalled him. "I think I'm beginning to understand why the Striaton Gym was trashed," he said under his breath.

Excadrill ripped its claws out of the ground, staring down Hilbert with a menace he didn't know a Pokemon was capable of. It almost seemed like it was daring him to throw out his next team member so it could rip them to shreds. It was a dare that he was happy to oblige, however.

"Artemis, get out there!" he yelled as he tossed out his Archen. The First Bird Pokemon emerged in a flash of light. Hilbert reasoned that Artemis, being a part Flying-type, would have nothing to fear from Excadrill's Ground-type attacks.

Clay, however, just began to laugh. "Hahaha! How damn stupid are you? Seriously, sendin' out a part Rock-type against a part Steel-type. Though I'll admit, been a while since I've seen an Archen. Don't matter, though. Excadrill, Iron Head!"

 _Oh, shit,_ Hilbert thought as Excadrill ran towards Artemis at high speed, intending to ram its head blade into her for an instant one-hit knockout. Luckily, Artemis was able to jump over Excadrill, shooting off a DragonBreath in mid-air, hitting the Subterrene Pokemon dead-on, but doing minimal damage, and the paralysis DragonBreath had a chance of causing did not trigger. Once Artemis had landed, Excadrill turned on a dime, and slammed into her headfirst, the super-effective attack delivered by Excadrill's 135 base attack stat instantly knocking her out.

"Damn!" Hilbert yelled, recalling Artemis. Now having only three Pokemon left, he threw out Makue, hoping her Fire-type attacks would be enough. The Zen Charm Pokemon ran towards Excadrill with fist aflame, but was cut down by a Rock Slide in a heartbeat.

Sweat was now budding on Hilbert's forehead, wetting his hair slightly under his cap. In spite of the fact that he knew Logan would be walled to hell and back by Excadrill, he tossed him out, given that Drilbur wouldn't last a minute against the terror of Clay's team.

"Logan, Strength!" Hilbert yelled. The Loyal Dog Pokemon raced for Excadrill, only for it to send out another Bulldoze. Logan was hit, the impact knocking him back, but incredibly, he held on with a sliver of health. Excadrill quickly fixed that, though, burying him under a Rock Slide that Logan had no hope of dodging.

Back now officially against the wall, Hilbert recalled Logan, and grabbed the Poke Ball containing Scrapper. Giving a determined nod to the sphere- if he was going down, he might as well do it fighting- he tossed him out. As soon as Scrapper materialized onto the battlefield, however, his body started to glow white.

"No way... Scrapper's evolving!?" Hilbert said in disbelief. Then he remembered something, and yanked his Pokedex out of his jacket. The device had beeped twice when Maru had knocked out Palpitoad, but the second chirp hadn't indicated Maru growing to level 35, it indicated Scrapper had grown to level 33! And that meant...

 _That Clay's in for a world of pain,_ he thought. A predatory, bloodthirsty grin crept across his face as he clicked the 'FORGET' icon underneath Dig on the Dex's touchscreen, replacing it with Earthquake. By now, Scrapper's transformation into an Excadrill was complete, and he let out a triumphant growl as he stared down the opposing Subterrene Pokemon.

"Alright," Hilbert muttered under his breath, "Let's kill that thing. Scrapper, _Earthquake!"_

Scrapper's claws glowed white as he plunged them into the ground with a roar, sending out a shockwave of power that put Bulldoze to shame. There was nothing the enemy Excadrill could do as the ground literally exploded under it, sending it flying as the base 100 power (105 with Excadrill's STAB on it) super-effective move hit, making its health bar shoot down to nothing as it landed hard behind Clay.

Realizing the battle was over, and that he had won, Hilbert let out a victorious cry, Scrapper doing his part in the celebration by striking a pose as Hilbert's Pokedex chirped again. Quickly getting over his elation, Hilbert recalled Scrapper, and stomped up to Clay.

"I guess you won't be so damn arrogant after that, and not send anyone else who wants to challenge you _into a fucking Cold Storage!"_ Hilbert yelled in the Gym Leader's face. "Now give me my damn Badge, or I'll have Scrapper do to you what he just did to your Excadrill."

"Boy, I know empty threats when I hear 'em," Clay said. Upon seeing Hilbert's eyes darken, he added hastily, "And you're not makin' one. Here, you've earned it- the Quake Badge." Clay reached into a pocket on his vest and pulled out the Badge. It was shaped and colored like a vertical piece of earth, with the top half having slid out of place at an angle.

Hilbert put the Badge away in his case. "Where's my damn TM?" he demanded.

Clay pulled the disk out his pocket, and was about to hand it to Hilbert, but suddenly stopped, seeming to think better of it.

"Y'know what?" Clay said. "I think I'll wait t' give ya this. Meet me at the entrance of Chargestone Cave. I'll hand it out then." He pressed a few buttons on his Cross-Transceiver, making Hilbert's beep. "There. We're both got each other's numbers on speed-dial. Call me when you're there, and I'll be along in a jiffy."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause you just couldn't fucking resist being a douchebag to me one more time, could you?" Hilbert said venomously. "Why the fuck are you even a Gym Leader, anyways? You sure as hell don't act like one."

Before Clay could reply, Hilbert was already walking back to the lift. "Thanks for nothing, I guess."

Clay watched the boy as the lift rose up to the surface. _He don't like me, but the feelin' is mutual,_ the Gym Leader thought. _He's got a nasty side to him, that's for sure... an' it gives me the shivers._

* * *

 **A/N: Just in case you were wondering what the full movesets on Clay's Pokemon were, here they are: Krokorok: Crunch, Bulldoze, Brick Break, Shadow Claw. Palpitoad: Muddy Water, Scald, Sludge Bomb, Bulldoze. Excadrill: Iron Head, Bulldoze, Rock Slide, Slash.**


	25. Chapter 23: System Shock

**A/N: Fuck this cave. That is all.**

* * *

 **I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

 **Chapter 23: System Shock**

It was nearing two o'clock in the afternoon as Hilbert walked out of the Pokemon Center. The exit to Driftveil was located to the northwest, a path that ran parallel to the hill the Gym was built on. According to his map, Chargestone Cave was at the north end of Route 6, a zig-zagging trail that was somewhat marshy. Chargestone Cave was crawling- quite literally- with dangerous wild Pokemon such as Joltik, so he had bought a number of Super Repels, which was a spray that kept away wild Pokemon. The drawbacks were their short duration and putrid smell.

He began his trek out of Driftveil, walking northwest, moving towards the city's hilly north end, but staying near the bottom of the hills. Soon, the path became clear, and houses began to be replaced by trees. He was almost at city limits when he heard a voice yell his name, and it sounded angry. "HILBERT!"

With an infuriated growl, the boy whipped around to see Bianca running up to him. He swore under his breath, but nonetheless stood where he was.

Once she reached him, she bent over and put her hands on her knees, panting. "You... you _jerk!"_ she gasped out as she raised her head and stood upright again. "W-where the hell were you and Cheren these past several days!? I looked high and low in Nimbasa for two days straight, and only when I beat Elesa I find out you both had moved on to Driftveil!"

"Where have I been, Bianca!? _Where have I been!?"_ Hilbert shouted. "Try freezing in a fucking Cold Storage because this town's arrogant-ass Gym Leader said I had to! Frankly, you've been the last damn thing on my mind for days! So unless you're here for something, get out of my sight."

"Oh, I'm here for something, _Hilbert_ ," Bianca said, seeming to spit his name out like it was poison. "Remember how I said I'd get even with you outside the Musical Theatre? Well I'm about to make good on that promise! I challenge you to a battle!"

Bianca ended her little speech with a dramatic finger point, expecting Hilbert to back off, but he didn't. His expression just turned into one of cold fury. "If you really think you're gonna beat me- that you can even _hope_ to compete with me- you're delusional. Do what you were told back in Nimbasa, and go home, or I'll show you how pathetic you are."

Hilbert then turned and started walking towards Route 6 again, leaving Bianca fuming and on the verge of tears. She balled her fists and grabbed her Pignite's Poke Ball off her belt. "We'll see who's pathetic after this, you _BASTARD!"_ she screamed, throwing out Pignite.

While Pignite's Poke Ball was still in mid-air, Hilbert whirled around, grabbed Scrapper's Poke Ball, and threw it in one smooth motion. The Excadrill emerged at the same time as Pignite, the two Pokemon staring each other down. Hilbert had taken off the Experience Share prior to going in the Pokemon Center, as Scrapper no longer needed it.

Pignite made the first move, curling itself into a ball and rolling towards Scrapper with incredible speed. Scrapper just seemed to snort, as if he knew that the Rock-type Rollout would do almost nothing to him. He plunged his claws into the ground, cracks rushing through the concrete towards Pignite before the earth exploded under his balled-up form, sending him flying. He landed hard, and didn't get up.

"No!" Bianca cried. She quickly recalled her starter, and more than a few drops of nervous sweat ran down her temples. _Oh, this is bad,_ she thought. Pignite was the strongest member of her team, at level 28, and Hilbert's Pokemon had downed it in one hit. With her other Pokemon being weaker than Pignite, what chance did she have? _No, that's just the mindset he wants me to be in. I won't give up!_

"Go, Pepper!" the girl cried as she threw out her Herider. The Loyal Dog Pokemon growled at the Excadrill, eager to avenge its fallen teammate.

"Use Take Down!" Bianca shouted. Much as everyone liked to peg her as one, she wasn't a _completely_ clueless ditz, knowing full well Hilbert's Pokemon was probably a Steel-type, and that Take Down would do a pittance at best, but she would take anything she could get at this point.

"Scrapper, Earthquake it!" Hilbert yelled. Once again, the Excadrill stabbed its claws into the ground, sending another earthen shockwave at Herdier which, once again, was a one-hit KO. Hilbert's Pokedex chirped as Scrapper's level increased.

 _Oh damn,_ Bianca thought. _I still have two more though. I can still turn this around!_

She sent out Fune, her Pansage, to hopefully do at least neutral damage to the monstrous Pokemon she had by now figured out was a Ground/Steel-type.

"Fune, Seed Bomb!" she yelled. The Pansage jumped into the air, opening its mouth to spit several small, explosive seeds in a fan-shaped formation at Excadrill. Scrapper wasn't even fazed, nimbly dodging to the left, and batting another one clean out of the way with his claws. The seeds caused small craters where they landed and exploded. In a way, Hilbert was glad for all the damage the battle was doing to Driftveil's outskirts. Served Clay right for being a dick.

Pansage came down to earth, Scrapper once again embedding his claws into the ground, causing a network of cracks in the concrete that raced for the Grass Monkey Pokemon. Pansage cried out, trying to run away, but was caught in the explosion of Earthquake. This sent him flying, but to Hilbert's amazement, the monkey just barely got to his feet, a pained expression on his face.

Scrapper snorted, yanking his claws out of the concrete and rushing straight for the helpless Pansage. He slashed it across the face with Metal Claw, knocking it out. Looking up at Bianca, the Excadrill gave a derisive snort before hopping back in Hilbert's direction.

Hilbert looked at Bianca. The poor girl seemed like she was on the verge of tears once again, but these were tears of fear rather than anger. Her knees shook as she recalled her Pansage, and she seemed hesitant as she took her final Poke Ball off her belt, holding it in both hands and cradling it against her chest. Without warning, she steeled her gaze, her eyes bloodshot, pulling her arm back in a throwing motion. "Musha, give it everything you've... _got!"_ she yelled as she tossed the ball. To Hilbert's surprise, Bianca's Munna had evolved somewhere along the way, likely in Nimbasa, into a Musharna. The Drowsing Pokemon let out an echoing, ethereal-sounding yawning noise as it appeared, hovering several inches off the ground like all Musharna did.

"Scrapper, you know what to do!" Hilbert yelled.

Scrapper plunged his claws into the concrete as Bianca yelled, "Musha, Psybeam!"

More cracks in the already-destroyed concrete appeared, rushing towards Musharna at a rate the slow Pokemon could not hope to dodge. Musharna was hit by the explosion of earth underneath it, stopping the Psybeam attack before it was even launched. However, just like Pansage's type allowed it to survive an Earthquake, Musharna's bulk made it withstand the blow, but it was obviously weakened.

"Scrapper, Earthquake one more time!" Hilbert yelled.

Almost rolling his eyes, the Excadrill stabbed his claws into the concrete once more, sending one more shockwave through the it, pulverizing it beyond all hope of repair. The final explosion sounded Musharna's knockout, and Bianca's defeat.

" _No!"_ the girl cried out, recalling her Musharna. Her hands trembled as she looked at the Poke Ball in her hand. Hilbert had beaten her without his Pokemon taking so much as a scratch. She looked up to see Hilbert walking quickly and aggressively towards her, like a heat-seeking missile that had just found a target.

"Give me your Trainer Card," Hilbert demanded. When Bianca looked at him with fearful, hesitant eyes, his narrowed. _"Now!"_ he added.

Without another word, Bianca reached into her bag, rummaging around for a few seconds, and pulled out her Trainer Card. Hilbert ripped it out of her hand, tapping it against his. He then flicked it back at her, Bianca just barely catching it.

The blond-haired girl stared down at her Card with distraught eyes, wondering if she was even worthy to have it anymore. "...Why?" she finally asked in a broken, quiet voice. "Why did I lose..?"

"Why do you _think,_ Bianca?" Hilbert shot back gruffly, crossing his arms. "Because you're a shit Trainer, and you always have been! From the moment we set out in Nuvema! You should've done as your father said in Nimbasa and _gone home!_ You're _pathetic! You're worthless!"_ Hilbert's last shouted word echoed in the air around them for several seconds, but that was nothing compared to how it rang in Bianca's mind, drowning out everything else.

That was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. Bianca burst into tears, turning and running away. As she did so, her bag, swung in a violent arc on her shoulder, and something fell out, landing on the broken road. Hilbert bent down and picked it up as Bianca became a blur in the distance, seeing that it was the jewel case for a TM. He scanned it with his Pokedex, and his eyes widened. This was no ordinary TM. In fact, it wasn't a TM at all! It was the coveted HM02, Fly. Hilbert briefly wondered where the hell Bianca of all people got her hands on such a useful move, then shrugged, deciding it didn't matter. He then kept going, trekking farther into Route 6.

N clicked the central button on his last Poke Ball four times, releasing the final Pokemon-a Deerling- he had caught on Route 6. He and a Team Plasma grunt were in Chargestone Cave, the entrance about twenty feet behind them.

"Go on, my friend," N said softly to the Deerling. "Go back to the wild where you belong."

The Season Pokemon gave him a sad look, then took off, out of the cave. It soon vanished into the wilds of Route 6.

The grunt watched as the Pokemon ran past him, wondering why N had just done this. "Lord N..." he said, walking up to him, "If I may ask... why are releasing your Pokemon?"

N walked off to the side a bit. In front of him was a ledge, overlooking the cave's depths. He stared down at that abyss for a few seconds before replying. "Because I can't... I just can't keep Pokemon confined in Poke Balls! They deserve to be free beings!" He whirled on the grunt, the man shocked at the passionate ferocity on N's face. "Don't you see!? If Pokemon stay with their... _Trainers,"_ the green-haired young man spat the word out like poison, "They'll be forced to battle, and they'll get hurt... I can't put them through that pain... Not unless I have to."

N then clutched at his hair, looking confused and pained. "But what makes it frustrating is making them battle seems to be the only way I can truly understand them!" he cried. "I don't know what to do... I just don't... It's so hard to find the answers when the world is so gray..."

"But... My Lord..." the grunt said, somewhat hesitant in his tone, "Even before we were born, people have caught Pokemon and made them battle... Isn't that just the way society works?"

N's eyes flashed with anger, and immediately the grunt regretted saying anything. The young man stomped towards him, getting right up in his face as the grunt cowered in fear. _"No!"_ N shouted, his voice reverberating down into the nearby pit. "That's _not_ how it should work! Who decided that catching beings- sentient, _living things-_ and making them fight each other was the _'correct'_ way!? The _'right'_ way!? It wasn't like that before these horrible things called Poke Balls were invented! The rules that govern this world are _wrong!"_ N tossed the Ball he held aside into the pit, where it spiralled out of view, the grunt swearing he heard it shatter on a lower floor a few seconds later.

"W-well, I guess you do make a good point," the grunt stammered. "I'll let my Pokemon go too!"

He quickly stepped to the side, grabbing a Poke Ball off his belt, but was stopped as N said, "No."

"What...? But you just said..."

The world hasn't changed yet," N said. "The time to free your Pokemon will come soon, but that time isn't now. It will come when I befriend Unova's legendary Dragon-type Pokemon, surpass the Champion and become the hero!" N turned to face the grunt. "Head to your assigned post and wait for further orders. Now."

The grunt just nodded and scampered off out of sight. However, once he was out of sight and earshot, he muttered to himself, "Taking orders from that nutcase better be worth all the power Ghetsis promised us... Work before play, after all, but this is a _lot_ ofwork, if you ask me..."

"I will achieve my goal," N said to himself in the meantime. "I will separate humans and Pokemon, and black and white will be clearly distinct! Only then will Pokemon become perfect beings..."

 _But then why..?_ He thought. _Why did that Deerling and the rest seem so sad to leave me? This wasn't the first time, either. Almost every time I've released the Pokemon I caught to protect me on a Route, they give me this heartbroken look when I let them go... And that Oshawott in Accumula Town... could what it said to Hilbert be true?_

" _No,"_ N growled out loud. "It couldn't have been. What do a few anomalies matter compared to the cries of the suffering Pokemon that filled that room? I _am_ the borderline between humans and Pokemon... I live in the margins between everyone, and I will save them! I _will_ change the world... I have to! Shadow Triad, to me!"

Three shadowy, ninja-like figures suddenly materialized from out of nowhere with a _vvvvsshh_ sound. They knelt before N. "What is your bidding, My Lord?" the one in the center asked.

"Here's what I want you three to do..." N said as he laid out the Shadow Triad's task...

Shortly afterwards, Professor Juniper, a huge backpack full of supplies slung over her shoulders, landed in front of the Driftveil City Pokemon Center on her Braviary, eager to begin her trek to Chargestone Cave the next day. The backpack's weight was no hindrance to the woman, as not only was she far, far stronger and more muscular under her lab coat than she appeared, she and her father, Cedric Juniper, had been traveling backpackers in her teenage years, so she was used to it. She walked into the building, but heard loud sobbing as soon as she did so. Looking left, she saw the source of the crying was Bianca, curled up on one of the chairs in the lounge area, bawling her eyes out.

"Bianca!" Juniper exclaimed, running over to the girl. She knelt in front of her, gently placing her hands on Bianca's shoulders. "What happened?" she asked in a soothing tone. "Why are you crying?"

Bianca looked down at Juniper, stopping her wracking sobs for a second. Her green eyes were bloodshot, red lines spiderwebbing the whites like veins of magma. She then burst into tears anew and turned away.

"Bianca, I'm only trying to help," Juniper continued. "And I can't do that unless you tell me what's going on. I'm not a Psychic-type Pokemon, I can't read minds."

"I-it's... H...Hilbert," Bianca stuttered thanks to her crying. "I...I t-tried to f-fight him, but he b-beat me s-so eas-easily! And-and... he... he called me pathetic! He called me _w-worthless!"_

Juniper's blood ran cold as Bianca started sobbing again. She recalled how Hilbert had snapped at her in the Nimbasa City Gate. _"You'll forgive me if I'm finding what's turning out to be a trek through hell a bit hard to enjoy,"_ was the last thing he had said to her before storming off. Things, it seemed, had only gotten much worse for him since then.

"He- I d-don't know wh-what's gotten in-into him," Bianca said, her breathing shaky. "He was just... _cruel._ So, so _cruel."_

Juniper stood up, getting Bianca to her feet and wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "Bianca, listen to me. You're _not_ worthless. I don't care what anyone says, you're _not."_ She pulled back, still keeping a gentle grip on the girl's arms. "In fact, let see your Badge Case."

She let Bianca go, the girl digging into her purse and pulling out her Badge Case with a forlorn look, handing it to Juniper. Juniper opened it, walking over and sitting on the lounge's couch, with Bianca sitting beside her.

"You see these Badges?" Juniper asked, to which Bianca nodded, sniffling. "These are proof that you've accomplished something. They say you overcame a challenging situation, and _won._ Just like you're going to now. You'll get through this. I'm here for you."

"T-tell that to my Dad," Bianca sniffled. "He-he didn't care about any of that, and basically said that... I-I wasn't good enough!" She burst into tears yet again.

"Then you know what? Screw him and what he says." Juniper said.

"W-what?"

"I said, screw him," Juniper repeated. "Who the hell cares if he's your father? He has no right to judge whether you're worthy of going on this journey. The only person who has the right to make that call is _you._ Do you?"

"R-right now, no," Bianca said miserably, wiping her eyes.

"That's not the Bianca I know," Juniper said. "Where's that plucky girl who was full of energy? I want to see her again. This isn't you, Bianca. This sniffling, sad girl- it's not who you are."

"She left after she got constantly beaten down," Bianca mumbled.

"No, no she didn't," Juniper corrected her. "Take another look at these Badges and ask yourself: 'how many battles have I won compared to what I've lost?'"

Bianca sniffled once more, then she perked up slightly as she thought more about it. "Well... I've beaten every Gym I've faced so far on my first try. In fact, I've rarely lost to anyone but Hilbert."

Sensing she was getting somewhere, Juniper pressed that point. _"Exactly._ So, are you going to let a few losses get you down, compared to all your victories?"

A new, more determined light began to shine in Bianca's eyes. "No, I won't."

"Good. Keep your chin up. If you want me to be, I'll cheer you on in your battle against Clay. By the way, tomorrow I'm going to Chargestone Cave for a research trip on the request of my father. You can join me if you'd like. You can be my... bodyguard."

For the first time in a while, Bianca gave a genuine smile. "Okay."

Just then, the nurse turned on the TV on the wall right in the middle of a news report. "-Agic scene here today as a body was discovered in Driftveil's port," the newswoman said, the 't' in 'tragic' having been cut off due to the TV being turned on too late.

"Workers discovered the body a little over half an hour ago," she went on. "Police have ID'd the body, but have not released his name. We've been told police believe the victim bled to death from a gash in his thigh, but the autopsy will provide a more conclusive statement. From what has been gathered, it seems the gash was caused by a Pokemon attack, most likely one of a slashing nature."

The newswoman went on in her report, but Juniper was deaf to it all. The only thing she could think was simply, _Oh, no._

Finally, after hours of trudging through Route 6's marshy, puddle-pockmarked terrain, crossing bridges over rivers and dodging Trainers the whole way, and at one point early on passing a building called the Deerling Seasonal Research Facility, Hilbert arrived at the entrance to the Chargestone Cave. The entrance was a short but long and very wide plateau of grayish-blue rock.

Unfortunately for him, the cave entrance was covered by a huge yellow spider's web, no doubt the handiwork of the wild Pokemon living inside. Hilbert had already tried to clear it with his hands, and received a painful jolt of electricity for doing so, like a static shock, only ten times worse.

"Son of a _bitch!"_ he growled, cursing his bad luck. "Why the hell do these things always happen to me!?"

Remembering he now had Clay's number on his Cross-Transceiver, he quickly dialed it. The device rang a few times before Clay picked up.

"Yeah?" the Gym Leader answered. "What is it, sprout?"

"First of all, don't call me 'sprout'," Hilbert growled. "Second of all, I'm at the entrance to Chargestone Cave, but the fuckin' entrance is blocked by a Pokemon's web! I got zapped trying to touch it. You said to call me when I got here, so get your ass out here and help!"

"Hmm... sounds like a Joltik or Galvantula web," Clay said, rubbing his chin. "Alright, I'll be there in a jiffy. Just sit tight." Before Hilbert could say any more, the line went dead as Clay hung up.

Grumbling, the boy sat down against the rock wall, staring at the pre-twilight sky and wondering why so much of this journey involved, and was spent, _waiting._

As it turned out, Clay's definition of 'in a jiffy' meant more than half an hour. Hilbert was on the verge of nodding off when he saw a giant bird Pokemon fly into view and come in for a landing ten feet away from him. Groaning, he got to his feet as Clay walked toward him.

"Funny how a Ground-type Gym Leader owns a Pokemon that's the one type immune to Ground." Hilbert said.

"Kiddo, every Gym Leader has a Braviary, but save Skyla, we don't use 'em for battle," Clay said, recalling the giant bird. "Stirrup here is just for transport."

Walking up to the web, Clay crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Yep, this here's a Galvatula web. Don't see 'em in this cave often, but this sometimes happens. Well, gotta deal with it regardless. Krokorok, get out here!"

He threw out Krokorok's Poke Ball, the Desert Croc Pokemon appeared in a flash of light.

"Krokorok, take it out!" Clay commanded.

Krokorok hissed, running up to the web and slashing it with its claws. Thanks to its Ground-typing, it was not affected by the electric spider threads. In two seconds, the web crumbled away, clearing the cave entrance.

"Well, that takes care of that," Clay said. He pulled a jewel case out of his pocket, handing it to Hilbert.

"I assume this is a TM? Y'know, the one you were _supposed_ to give me when I beat you?" Hilbert asked with irritation clear in his voice.

"Yep. It's Bulldoze. Ground-type move, but ya probably know that already," Clay said. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Listen, kid... I'm sorry I sent you an' yer friend into the Cold Storage. I was pissed off, y'know? I jus' took that out on you two boys." He hung his head. "That was wrong of me, an' I apologize."

Hilbert just crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brows. "Apology not accepted," he huffed. "You don't send people into a situation that could get them killed and expect an apology to magically make everything better. I'll _never_ forgive you for that. _Ever."_

 _Well, it was worth a shot,_ Clay thought. Luckily for him, he didn't need to say anything more on the subject, as his Cross-Transceiver began to ring. "'Cuse me for a sec," he said, walking a few feet away.

Hilbert could still clearly hear what Clay was saying. It was the man's secretary, saying he had a challenger and needed to get back to the Gym.

"Well, I gotta get goin'," Clay said, releasing his Braviary. "Just some last tips- there's a building just southwest of this plateau. It's a bed-and-breakfast, an' they've got a Pokemon League-certified healing machine there. Plus, there's lots of grass nearby you can use to train, so use that if ya need to. Oh, and take this."

Clay reached into a breast pocket and pulled out a purple bag tied at the top with string, tossing it to Hilbert.

"Pokemon hold item?" Hilbert asked.

"Yep. Soft Sand. It raises the power of Ground-type moves by 10%. Give it to your Excadrill, but don't use Earthquake in that cave, ya hear? Area of effect attacks are suicide in confined spaces."

With that, Hilbert watched as Clay took off into the distance. He sighed, looking at the horizon. The sun was well into its decent, closing out the day.

 _Well, I guess it's time to get to that building. I could use some shelter for the night._ he thought.

Hilbert found the bed-and-breakfast easily enough, paying for a room. For a place in such a remote area, they did surprisingly good business, given how many traveling Trainers came through Route 6. In fact, that was probably why the owners set up shot here to begin with. Hilbert had a shower, then lay down on the bed in the room, falling asleep.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Hilbert was up and outside, his Pokemon already decimating the local Deerling, Shelmet, and Karrablast population. The wild Pokemon were fairly weak, forcing him to train for several exhausting hours, but in the end, he managed to get most of his Pokemon at least a couple of levels.

Every single member of his team, save Excadrill (he had deemed it unnecessary, as Scrapper was already level 35) had gained two levels, bringing most of them to level 33. Artemis had learned no new moves, while Sensei had tried to learn Retaliate, Bulk Up, and Endure during training, the last of which Hilbert had replaced Focus Energy with.

With Makue, things had gotten a little more interesting. At level 33, she tried to learn the devastating Flare Blitz, and Hilbert had his Darumaka forget Fire Fang for the absurdly powerful move. It came with recoil damage, but it the cases where that was undesirable, Fire Punch was always there. Having Makue learn the ludicrously strong base 120 power (STAB taking it up to 125) move was a no-brainer.

His last two Pokemon, though, was where things got truly exciting. At level 32, Logan had actually evolved into Stoutland! Hilbert immediately ran up to hug the now 3'11'' dog, immensely proud of his first-caught Pokemon for coming so far. The next level, Logan had tried to learn Retaliate, but much like with Sensei, Hilbert had just passed it up, as Strength was a more powerful STAB move overall.

Stoutland was a much shaggier version of Herider. The cream fur on its face had now grown into two massive plumes that ran the length of its body and trailed on the ground, while the fur on its body now formed an impressive, shaggy coat. The fur was dark blue up near his shoulders and grayish-blue towards his feet. Hilbert laughed as his new Pokemon licked his face in joy.

However, even that paled in comparison to the evolution of his starter. Hilbert had actually had Maru out the whole time, his training taking longer than all the rest of his team combined, and passing on Aqua Jet at level 34. But it was worth it as Maru was surrounded by a white aura at level 36. When it faded, his Dewott was gone, replaced by a quadrupedal sea lion creature that could only be described as fearsome- Samurott. His now fully-evolved starter gave a mighty roar of triumph, turning to face his Trainer.

Samurott was mostly blue with a dull blue underbelly. Its fore and hind legs were covered in seashell-like armor, and it wore another shell like a helmet. This shell had a pointed protrusion on its front that looked sharp as a spear tip. Its face had long white whiskers, extending from its snout and head, giving it a very regal, experienced look. It also had a wide, fan-like tail of varying shades of blue.

Hilbert ran up to his starter in joy, but Maru simply growled and ran past him. Hilbert turned around, and to his astonishment, saw the Formidable Pokemon grab one of the pieces of armor on its forelimbs, and actually _unsheathe it_ , the piece of armor turning out to be a sword-like weapon. Maru then used it to dispatch a Karrablast that had been sneaking up behind them with one hit.

Hilbert could only smile in pride. It only seemed like yesterday he had picked this powerful beast as an Oshawott back in Nuvema Town. _Guess I was right when I saw potential in you, Maru,_ he thought. _You really have gotten stronger, haven't you?_

Trainer and Pokemon only stared at each other for a few more seconds, Maru nodding. The nod seemed to say, _I will follow you wherever you go, Master. Thank you for allowing me this chance to travel with you._ Hilbert then recalled his starterto his Poke Ball. Just then, Hilbert's Pokedex chirped, letting him know Maru was trying to learn Slash. While the 70 base power Normal-type move was tempting, it meant giving up the more useful coverage that Fury Cutter or Revenge offered. That, combined with the fact that he was about to go into a cave that he knew was full of Rock-types, made him pass it up.

Now ready to go on, he went back to the bed-and-breakfast, healed his Pokemon, bought some food, and filled his water bottle, then headed into Chargestone Cave.

The entrance to Chargestone Cave was a narrow cavern, but one that quickly widened as it went further north. Glowing, electrically-charged blue stones were embedded in the walls, their luminescence providing more than enough light to see by, eliminating the need for any man-made lights to be installed in the cave. In fact, if Hilbert could choose one word to describe the cave based on what he saw so far, it would be _blue._ Even the very rock walls themselves were a navy blue, to the point where the parts of his jacket that were that colour were rendered practically invisible.

He had gone no more than twenty steps forward when two figures wearing black with white hair and face masks suddenly materialized on either side of him, grabbing his arms. "What the- _hmmph!?"_ Hilbert yelled, his speech cut off as one of the figures slapped a hand over his mouth.

"You're coming with us," the figure on his left said in a gruff voice. "Try to scream, and it will be the last noise you ever make."

Forced to comply, Hilbert was practically dragged deeper into the cave, until they stopped before a familiar green-haired young man. Hilbert's eyes narrowed angrily. _N! What's that son of a bitch doing here!?_

"We have brought you the one you wanted, my Lord N," one of the ninja-like figures said. They released their grip on Hilbert's limbs, then literally disappeared into thin air with a _vsssh_ sound.

"Okay... what- _what the fuck was that!?"_ Hilbert yelled at N, thoroughly confused and more than a little disturbed. "Who _were_ those guys!?"

"They were the Shadow Triad," N said simply, like it was obvious information. "Well, you only saw two, but there are three. Kind of implicit in the word 'triad'. Ghetsis enlisted them into Team Plasma. They were the ones who prepared the Galvantula web on my orders. Apparently, it didn't stop you." N's eyes narrowed. "It _should_ have stopped you."

"Yeah, well, it didn't," Hilbert said. "Let's just say I have friends in high places."

"Hmm," N said. He walked a few paces to the right, to the same ledge where he had the conversation with the grunt yesterday, looking out over the cave. Hilbert had a strong desire to push the damned madman _off_ the ledge and be rid of him once and for all, but N turned back to him before he could make good on those murderous thoughts.

"Chargestone Cave... I like this place," the green-haired young man went on, suddenly changing the subject for no real reason. "Formulas express electricity and its connection to Pokemon... this cave is where they can truly be themselves. If people didn't exist, this would be an ideal place."

"So what, you wish humans didn't exist?" Hilbert shot back. "Are you _that_ crazy?"

"Oh, no, no, no," N said. "I merely wish humans would stop trapping Pokemon in Poke Balls and bending them to their will. Speaking of being bent to a will, you have been chosen. Did you know that?"

 _This guy's nuttier than a bag of trail mix!_ Hilbert thought. "What the _fuck_ are you talking about?"

"So apparently you didn't know... hmm," N said. "Either way, Ghetsis has been using the Shadow Triad to spy on you and your friends over the last few days."

Hilbert's eyes widened. _What?_ he thought with a combination of both burning rage and icy fear.

At Hilbert's expression, N smirked. "Oh, yes, Hilbert, we know. We know that Cheren is pursuring the ideal of strength- yet, he seems oblivious to anything else. Not a very healthy mindset, to say the least. Bianca, meanwhile, is facing the sad truth that not everyone can become stronger. One of the Triad watched your battle with her yesterday." He shook his head in mock sympathy. "Bless her soul, he said that was one of the most pathetic battles he had ever seen."

"I put her in her place," Hilbert said, crossing his arms. "What's your point?"

"Which brings us to you," N said. "You are a curious one- at least that's what the Triad member said. Not seeming to want to get stronger at the expense of everything else, not facing hardship in terms of lost battles... a neutral presence, and yet you have a lot of anger in you. I do wonder- and Ghetsis wanted to know this as well, but I'm not so sure anymore- what kind of a Trainer you really are. By the end of this cave, we'll both know."

Hilbert was just about to open his mouth when a member of the Triad suddenly appeared and took N's arm, vanishing with another _vsssh._

"Fuck that guy," Hilbert growled. "Next time I see him, I'm gonna kill him."

Before he forgot, he took a Super Repel out of his bag, held the nozzle towards himself, and lightly coated his jacket in the can's contents. His nose turned up at the smell, but he kept his breakfast from coming up the same way it went down.

Repels were practically necessary in Chargestone Cave thanks to how dangerous the wild Pokemon could be. The squat, three-legged evolution of Roggenrola, Boldore, were notoriously rowdy in this cave, and more than a few people had been mauled by them. The tiny yellow spider-like Joltik weren't very threatening one-on-one, but they could easily swarm a person and shock them to death with combined, repeated jolts of electricity. The same went for Tynamo, strange fish-like creatures that weren't Water-types, but Electric-types. The worst, though, were the two Steel-types in the cave, Klink and Ferroseed.

Klink was basically two ever-turning gears that floated a few inches off the ground with comical faces on each gear. However, a limb caught between the gears could be easily crushed or even amputated. Ferroseed, on the other hand, were Grass/Steel-type ovoid Pokemon with yellow eyes and small green spikes covering every last inch of their metal bodies. They rolled along on the ground, or worse yet, buried themselves into it like spiked landmines. Disturbing one or stepping on one would get you a barrage of deadly green spikes shot your way. Luckily, Repels would make Pokemon outright avoid whoever sprayed themselves with it.

With the fantasy of ripping N limb from limb playing in his mind's eye, Hilbert stepped deeper into the cave. He kept the flashlight on his Cross-Transceiver on and pointed at the ground at all times, avoiding the telltale green spike of a Ferroseed sticking out of the ground, while Joltik crawled on the walls and ceiling by the dozens. At one point, a Boldore walked right in his path, and he stopped dead in his tracks, not daring to even breathe. The Boldore looked right at him, seemed to sniff at him, then let out a displeased grunt, and went on its way.

Hilbert sighed in relief, then regretted it as the stench of the Repel entered his nostrils when he inhaled. "Ugh..." he groaned. "If I never have to use a Repel again, it'll be too soon."

He turned a corner around a rock wall, and immediately came to a dead end. In front of him was a big blue floating stone, about as tall as he was, while to the right was another rock wall "Shit," he muttered, "How the hell am I supposed to get past this?" He angrily kicked the ground. _Fuck it,_ he decided. _I'm going back to Clay and getting him to escort me all the way through this cave, and if he says no, I'll drag his ass here kicking and screaming. It'll at least be good payback for the Cold Storage._

He turned around, starting to walk back toward the entrance, but stopped in his tracks when he heard voices coming his way. _Oh shit,_ he thought. _Team Plasma?_ He looked around for someplace to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. He was out in the open, totally visible.

He pulled Maru's Poke Ball off his belt, getting ready to throw it as the voices got louder and louder. Seconds later, two figures turned the corner, only for him to recognize them. "Oh, Professor Juniper, Bianca. What the hell are you two doing here?" he asked. He couldn't help but notice the way Bianca shrank back behind Juniper slightly at the mere sight of him. He inwardly rolled his eyes. Juniper had a heavy-looking backpack on her back.

"Oh, we're here on a research trip," Juniper said. Hilbert couldn't help but notice the somewhat angry tone in her voice, as well as the way her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at him. "Bianca and I are trying to find out the origins of the Pokemon Klink. Based on historical records, it apparently appeared in this cave just over a hundred years ago, even though this cave has been around since the distant past."

"Fascinating," Hilbert said sarcastically, this time actually rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, we're going to stay in this area of the cave for about a day, hence my backpack. Speaking of which, Bianca, could you be a dear and take some of the supplies out of it and get them ready? I need to talk to Hilbert. _Now."_ She placed the backpack on the ground and glared at Hilbert in a way that made it clear to the boy that there was no option.

She took a pair of rubber gloves out of a pocket in her lab coat, slipping them on and walking to the right side of the floating stone. With a grunt, she shoved it out of the way, and it slammed into another, much bigger blue stone nearby, where it stuck like it was magnetic, opening the path. "If you're wondering, that's how you get around in here," Juniper said. "These stones are like giant magnets, and are attracted to each other. If a floating stone is in your way, just push it. Now, follow me."

They walked into the path that the moved stone had revealed, emerging into another open area with a straight path to the north. "Hilbert, what the hell has gotten into you?" Juniper hissed. "Yesterday, I went into the Pokemon Center in Driftveil, and I found Bianca in there, _crying._ She also told me you called her worthless. I don't what's going on with you, but you need to stop it. _Now."_

"And why should I, Professor?" Hilbert shot back snidely. "She wanted to battle me, she faced the consequences. That's all there is to it."

"No, it's not," Juniper said. "She wouldn't have been bawling her eyes out if you had simply beaten her in a battle. You insulted her, you belittled her, and you made her feel worse than dirt. According to what she told me on our way here, you didn't even stand up for her when her own father was against her."

"Oh, this shit again?" Hilbert huffed. "What was I supposed to do? Tell her to keep going in the aftermath of a sandstorm that left dozens dead and that she could have easily been caught in? Lie and say she's a good Trainer when she's clearly not? Sometimes, the truth is better than lying, even when the person doesn't want to hear it."

"Okay, then tell me the truth on this, even though I don't want to hear it," Juniper countered. "Practice what you preach, if you will. Just after I consoled Bianca- because of _you,_ might I add- there was a news report on TV that said the body of a man who bled to death was discovered near the Driftveil port. They also said the wound was caused by a Pokemon attack, one of a slashing nature, _and_ I know you were around Driftveil yesterday." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Hilbert... did you kill somebody?"

Hilbert just barely managed to keep his surprise off his face, only the subtle raise of his eyebrows betraying his true emotions. He instead laughed and scoffed. "Juniper, I was training on Route 6 yesterday to get ready for my battle with Clay. I was nowhere near the port. Hell, the only time I was in Driftveil that day was during the battle. After that, I left."

Juniper's face twisted into a look of suspicion. Something wasn't adding up, but she couldn't put her finger on what. "...Okay, I'll believe you," she said at last. Hearing Bianca calling, she started walking away. "But I swear, if I find out you had anything to do with this, I'll have your Trainer Card revoked in a heartbeat and have you thrown in jail."

Hilbert just rolled his eyes again, then continued on, deeper into the cave. Joltik crawled along the walls of the pathway he walked through, which emerged into another, larger open area. A blue stone floated in between two high rock walls, forcing Hilbert to push it out of the way with his shoulder. The stone was attracted to another of the big rocks to the right, where it stuck.

Slipping in between the walls, he came out into a natural maze of narrow rock corridors and big stones that led eastward, the ground littered with the telltale signs of buried Ferroseed. He walked the direction of the passageways- east- but there were so many dead ends he had to turn around and retrace his steps multiple times. Sometimes, the passages were so narrow he literally could not avoid the Ferroseed, so he was forced to send out Makue to deal with the Grass/Steel-types. The barrage of Pin Missile attacks the Ferroseed shot out came so close to him that many times he could feel the rush of air the spikes left in their wake. Once, one actually _did_ graze his jacket, tearing the left sleeve, but by some miracle not hitting skin. "Okay..." he muttered, breathing heavily. "That seals it. Soon as I get to Mistralton, I'm buying a new jacket."

At long last, he found the exit to the maze, a narrow path leading south. This path overlooked the lower floors of Chargestone Cave, and ended in a solid wooden bridge which spanned a chasm over two halves of the cave. Just as Hilbert approached the bridge, all three members of the Shadow Triad appeared out of nowhere, causing him to jump and stumble backwards, almost falling to his doom off the path, but one Shadow grabbed his wrist and pulled him back before that could happen. Hilbert winced at the Shadow's touch. His hand was cold as ice, and held on firm with an ironclad grip. _What the hell are these guys?_ he thought.

"You're not dying here, so sorry if were planning on it," the Shadow said in mock affection. "You're coming with us."

Before Hilbert had even a chance to speak, all three of them grabbed his arms with their signature iron grips, and suddenly, the boy felt as though he was being blended into a slurry. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but it was nauseating beyond words and felt strangely violating at the same time, like his innards were being rearranged inside of him by demented surgeons at impossible speeds.

Just as fast as the feeling began, though, it ended. The Triad let him go, leaving Hilbert to drop to his hands and knees, trying to hold in the vomit that wanted fiercely to exit his mouth. In the end, it proved to be a losing battle, and his half-digested breakfast was expelled the same way it went down.

"Wha... what the... wh'thefuck..." he breathed, barely able to form coherent sentences from the sick feeling that puking had left behind.

"That wasn't exactly an uncommon reaction to being teleported for the first time," one of the Triad said. "Lord N did the same. Even Master Ghetsis could barely hold in his lunch."

Another Shadow raised his arm, pointing south. "There is a ladder leading deeper into this cave ahead. Team Plasma is waiting for you there."

Hilbert shook his head, pushing himself one knee. "Y-you really... really think those damn grunts will stop me?" he growled. "I've... I've beaten them more times than I can count."

"Truthfully?" the third Shadow said. "No, we don't expect them to stop you." He grinned behind his mask. "But they will weaken you."

With that, all three ninja disappeared with their signature _vssshh_ sound. Making it to his feet and stumbling around for a few seconds, Hilbert placed his hand against a nearby wall for support, fishing his water bottle out of his bag and taking a swig to wash away the remaining taste of the vomit in his mouth.

"Ugh... I hate Team Plasma..." he groaned. He could see the ladder not fifteen feet in front of him, and after his stomach stopped doing backflips, he walked over to it, and descended deeper down. What he found at the bottom was a huge cavern filled with huge glowing blue rocks that created twisting, turning natural corridors and uneven ground. One misstep here could easily result in a twisted ankle.

He noticed that the Repel stench was starting to wear off- a surefire sign that the spray was losing effectiveness. He took another can out of his bag, and again coated his jacket in its contents. Thanks to his weakened stomach, the smell this time was too much, causing him to heave up bile. He groaned and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

He took Maru's Poke Ball off his belt as a precaution. If the sight of his now-mighty starter didn't send the grunts screaming away, he didn't know what would. Cautiously stepping forward, he advanced, but not before giving a glance behind him, swearing he'd heard something. All he saw, though, was yet another glowing rock.

Ghetsis gave the Zoroark beside him a withering glare, causing the Illusion Fox Pokemon to stop its incessant giggling. It hissed as the Trainer it was sent to trap in an illusion vanished around a corner. Both of them were currently disguised in one of the Dark-type's illusions, causing them to appear as an ordinary big blue rock. Being inside the illusion _was_ rather strange, Ghetsis had to admit. It was like being inside a soap bubble, with the world outside looking distorted and wavy.

Zoroark was a bipedal Pokemon that resembled a fox and had gray-brown fur. An enormous mane of red fur with black spikes at the top sprouted from its head and trailed down its back. Its chest fur was thick and black, and the claws on both its feet and hands were red.

"Easy, Zoroark," Ghetsis said. "I know you're eager, but remember, the last thing you want is to be discovered before the trap is even laid out. You still know what it is, or do I have to go through it a _third time?"_

The Zoroark whined in fear, but in the end shook its head no. Ghetsis just growled. _Useless creature..._ he mentally grumbled. "Fine, then I'll tell you. Forget again, though, and I'll feed you to my Hydreigon. Clear?"

The Zoroark nodded.

"You are to slip past that boy and lie in wait near the end of the cave," Ghetsis explained. "When he passes you, trap him in an illusion- the most powerful you can muster, and keep him there until he either goes mad or dies from dehydration. Do not dispel the illusion until then. Am I clear?"

The Zoroark gave another nod.

"Good," Ghetsis said. With no chance of Hilbert spotting him, the green-haired man exited the illusion, making his way up the ladder. The Shadow Triad would pick him up at the top, leaving the Zoroark alone to carry out its task.

The Zoroark just sighed, sitting down, causing its back-jointed legs to bend in an inhuman way. As a Pokemon, a being of pure energy, it didn't exactly _need_ to eat or drink (though it could), but it knew the waiting of this task might drive it just as mad as the boy. Still, it could do nothing but wait, as the threat of the green-haired man's Hydreigon was still fresh in its mind.

Hilbert, with his starter's Poke Ball still clutched in his hand, slowly made his way through the maze-like cavern. So far, there were no Plasma grunts to be seen, but that only put him more on edge than if he had encountered them. He was headed east, or at least the direction that he _thought_ was east. He glanced down at his Cross-Transceiver to check the compass... but then remembered it didn't even _have_ that functionality. "Ah... stupid fuckin' skunkworks piece of shit," he grumbled, glaring at the device on his wrist. "Why can't you be a Poketch? I'm sure that has a compass app or something..."

He glanced up again, and stopped in his tracks. Not ten feet in front of him was not one, but a _line_ of five green spikes poking out the ground, taking up the entire width of the corridor he was currently in. "Dammit... looks like a nest of Ferroseed," he said to himself. He quickly swapped Maru's Poke Ball for Makue's. The Darumaka was already down to about half health thanks to Ferroseed's ability, Iron Barbs, which chipped away at any Pokemon that dared make physical contact with it. Taking on this many Ferroseed at once would surely make her faint, and he was carrying very few healing supplies, but there was no choice. Darumaka was the only Pokemon he had with moves that hit the Grass/Steel-types in the quad weakness.

"Alright, you know what to do," he said, throwing out the Poke Ball. It landed near the line of spikes, causing all the Ferroseed to burst out of their hiding places in showers of blue-gray dirt. "Take 'em out, Makue!" Hilbert yelled. "Quick, quick!"

Makue launched a flurry of Fire Punches while the Ferroseed fired a barrage of Pin Missiles her way. The Zen Charm Pokemon acrobatically rolled out of the way, slamming her flaming fist into the nearest Ferroseed, taking it down, but visibly wincing as Iron Barbs inflicted damage on her. Hilbert yelled a warning to his Darumaka as another Ferroseed tried slamming into her with Gyro Ball from behind. She quickly got out of the way, punching it as it rolled past. The blow was far more than was necessary to take down the Thorn Seed Pokemon, but again, Iron Barbs took its toll.

The remaining three Ferroseed, to their credit, refused to give up. They launched more Pin Missile attacks her way, and this time, one was successful in landing a hit. Makue cried out in pain, but didn't fall. She ran forward, exploiting the Ferroseed's mistake of clustering together, and with three quick Fire Punches, knocked them out. The Iron Barbs damage this time, though, was enough to cause her to faint.

Hilbert grimaced, returning his fallen Pokemon. Suddenly, he heard echoing voices and running footsteps. He immediately grabbed Maru's Poke Ball and prepared for battle, and not ten seconds later, three Team Plasma grunts- two men and a woman- emerged from around the corner.

"Ah, shit," Hilbert muttered.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the brat we were told would be here!" one of the men said. "You ready to get stomped, kid?"

"That depends," Hilbert said, sizing them up. "Are your Pokemon ready to be torn to shreds?" In reality (though he would never admit it), Hilbert was feeling more than a little intimidated by the grunts. Sure, he had taken many of them down before, but that had in one-on-one situations, not three of them at once.

"We'll see," the grunt replied. All three threw out the Poke Balls clipped to the belts, revealing a Watchog, Scraggy, and Liepard.

 _Hope you're ready for this, Maru,_ Hilbert thought, throwing out his starter. The Samurott emerged in a flash of light, letting out a roar that echoed in the confined space.

The Scraggy and Watchog descended on Maru as one, while the Liepard hung back, waiting for the right time to strike. The Watchog used Super Fang, chomping down on Maru's arm, immediately cutting his health down to half and making him howl in pain, while the Scraggy quickly karate chopped him with Brick Break, lowering the Formidable Pokemon's health down even further to what Hilbert was sure was dangerously red.

However, Maru started glowing the signature red of Revenge, and with a mighty roar, grabbed the Watchog and ripped it off his arm, throwing against the wall with sickening force, then unsheathed the sword on its other arm and batted Scraggy away with it. Both enemy Pokemon were knocked out by the super-effective Fighting-type move. However, this was the opportunity the Liepard had been waiting for. It ran for Maru while he was still recovering from the assault, and rammed into him with Pursuit, knocking him out.

"No!" Hilbert yelled, returning his starter. He then looked at the Liepard, noticing it was advancing toward him with a disturbing, hungry look in its eyes, its claws popped.

"Liepard, you know what to do," the female grunt said. "Sic 'im."

 _Oh shit!_ Hilbert thought. Moving faster than he ever had, he grabbed his Sawk's Poke Ball off his belt, throwing it out. "Brick Break, now!" he yelled even before Sensei had finished materializing and as the Liepard pounced.

Sensei was almost too late. The Liepard had actually _jumped through_ his materializing form, and was within a few centimeters of Hilbert when he grabbed it by the tail, yanking it back and giving it a sound karate chop on the spine, knocking the Cruel Pokemon out in one hit.

Breathing heavily from adrenaline, Hilbert faced the grunts as they returned their Pokemon. "Now, I believe you saying something about stomping me?"

All the grunt's faces turned white. "This isn't over, kid!" the man who owned the Scraggy said as the trio retreated back from where they came.

Hilbert sighed. He was now down to four Pokemon, one of which he couldn't even use to its fullest due to Earthquake being a death sentence in such a confined area. Sensei was now the best choice he had for taking down those infuriating Ferroseed... but Iron Barbs would eventually chip him down, too. Stuck (almost literally) between a rock and a hard place, Hilbert chose the rock, and kept going, taking another swig of his water before going on.

To his surprise, the cavern wasn't as difficult to navigate as he thought it would be. He did get turned around a few times, but had Scrapper mark some rocks with Metal Claw to denote where he had and hadn't been. The eastward direction he was taking led him into conflict with a few more Team Plasma grunts, including a woman who used three Trubbish! She had actually made Sensei faint thanks to a lucky infliction of poison from Sludge, forcing him to use his Excadrill to take them out. Still, even Excadrill had taken a few nicks from Take Down.

 _Guess those Shadow Triad assholes were right,_ Hilbert thought. _These guys_ are _wearing me down._

At long last, he reached the ladder that led out of the 'basement' of Chargestone Cave, and to where he hoped the exit would be. He checked the time on his Pokedex's screen, finding it to be a little after seven o'clock. _Not bad,_ he thought. _I should be in Mistralton by about nine-forty._ His hopes for this, as he would soon find out, would soon be dashed.

He walked south a short distance, then west, only to find himself face-to-face with a rock wall. "What the fuck..?" he said in disbelief. "The exit should be just beyond this point, why the hell is this in the way!?"

Now very worried, he turned around, intending to go back to the ladder and maybe find another way, only to find himself walking down a corridor he _swore_ hadn't been there two minutes ago, and somehow again came face-to-face with the same rock wall. "What the fuck!?" he exclaimed. "This cave's nuts!"

Meanwhile, disguised as a nearby rock, the Zoroark snickered. It would be fun watching this boy get more and more panicked at his situation until he finally died.

Hilbert heard the snickering. "Hello!?" he called. "Wh-who's there!? Is there anyone in here with me!?"

The Zoroark ceased its noise immediately, not daring to even breathe. Eventually, the boy, after looking around in a panic, muttered, "Dammit, I'm going completely insane... Starting to hear things..." before wandering off. The Zoroark let out a relieved sigh, then refocused on its illusion.

Hilbert soon found himself walking in circles, circles that by all rights should have been impossible, and circles that always ended in that damnable rock wall. After his third loop of the same ground, he screamed in anger, tossing out his Excadrill. "Alright, if we can't go around it, we'll just go through it," Hilbert hissed.

As Hilbert commanded his Excadrill to use Metal Claw, the Zoroark tensed up. This would be a serious test of its ability to create illusions, as any physical interaction with them made it work double-time to make sure they acted in a realistic manner and didn't just shake like jello.

The Excadrill slashed at the rock wall once, twice, three times, each strike almost making the Illusion Fox Pokemon cry out in pain, but it endured.

Hilbert gasped as Scrapper stopped his bombardment of the rock wall. Even with the sheer power of an Excadrill, the hits hadn't left a scratch. "Well... nice try, buddy," he said to Scrapper, attempting to keep his cool in front of his Pokemon. He was only a little ways away from full-on panic mode in truth. "We'll find a way outta this, okay?" Smiling weakly, he recalled his team member. Forced to continue the bizarre loop, he kept going.

All at once, though, on his sixth loop, he had an idea. _The Cross-Transceiver! I can use it to call for help!_ He flipped the device on, dialing Juniper's number. However, the cave, being naturally electromagnetic as it was, interfered with any cellular signals, rendering the call function of the Cross-Transceiver next to useless. All he got was static.

Hilbert's face twisted into abject fury in a heartbeat. _"DAMMIT!"_ he yelled. He ripped the Cross-Transceiver off his wrist and threw it against the ground. He slumped down against the wall, putting his head in his hands. "What the hell is going on..?" he muttered hopelessly. "This shouldn't be happening... it _can't_ be happening...".

After a short while, he stood, picked his Cross-Transceiver up off the ground, as it was his only method of telling time, and slipped it back on. The impact against the ground had scratched the plastic around the main screen, but it had sustained no damage beyond that. Cross-Transceivers really _were_ built to last. Checking the time, he saw that an hour had passed, making it eight o'clock. _So much for making it to Mistralton by nine-forty_ , he thought. Still, there had to be a way out of this crazy cave... there _had_ to be. Without much choice, he kept on, this time keeping a close eye on the walls for any tunnels leading out he might have missed.

Meanwhile, the Zoroark was getting bored. It was time, it decided, to speed things up.

By the twelfth loop, Hilbert was beginning to notice he was sweating a considerable amount more than ten minutes ago. At first he thought it was his imagination, but now that he stopped and thought about it, the cave's temperature _did_ seem hotter, thus causing the increase in perspiration. He took his water bottle out of his bag, chugging it greedily, but stopped when he realized he'd need to conserve the liquid. He groaned when he looked at the water level in the bottle: It was already about three-quarters empty.

The thirtieth loop is when his stomach started growling. Having puked up his breakfast before it had a chance to fully digest, his body was now crying out for food. Opening his bag, he saw he had a few granola bars and a shrink-wrapped sandwich. Unwrapping the sandwich, he ate it greedily, but chose to leave the bars for later. All the while, the feeling of desperation was gnawing at the back of his mind.

After the fiftieth loop, he was just running up and down the corridor, looking for anything, even a small sliver, that he missed. The heat in the tunnel was getting to him, and he'd used up the last of his water several loops ago. He'd stripped off his jacket and tied it around his waist to stave off the heat, but knew it would only work for a short time. It was now past ten o'clock, and he was exhausted. _Maybe this is all a bad dream,_ he thought groggily. _Maybe... maybe all I have to do is sleep, and... and it'll be fine when I wake up._

He untied his jacket from around his waist, took off his bag, and lay down on the ground, using the jacket as a pillow. However, just as soon as he was falling into slumber, there came a ringing in his ears. He ignored it at first, but it grew louder and louder until it drowned out all else and became painful. Hilbert's eyes shot open and he sat up with a scream. "What the hell is happening..?" he asked again for the second time in as many hours. Now unable to even sleep, he got up, and continued the loop.

The Zoroark, meanwhile, just quietly sighed in relief. That had been a close one, but keeping the boy awake would speed up the process even faster.

After that, how much time passed, Hilbert couldn't say, and he dared not check. He lost count of how many loops he completed around this bizarre circuit he was forced to tread over and over again. His breathing was labored, his parched throat screamed for water, and the exhaustion was getting to him. It was all he could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He could feel himself getting weaker, but he had to stay awake to avoid that Arceus-damned ringing that popped up whenever he so much as closed his eyes for more than two minutes.

For another twenty-five loops, he kept going, feeling like he was stuck in limbo, before his body gave out. The exhaustion was just too much, and he collapsed, passed out on the ground. The Zoroark waited for a good ten minutes, even trying the sound to awaken the boy, but he didn't so much as stir. Finally, it dispelled its illusion and tip-toed over to Hilbert to check on him. The boy was still breathing, but it was shallow, and with no water and no one to help him, he would die soon, anyway.

Confident that its job was done, the Zoroark bounded away in the opposite direction, leaving Hilbert to die of exposure to the elements.

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 **A/N: Holy. Mother. Of. Fuck. I'll repeat what I said at the start: Fuck Chargestone. But now it's** _ **over.**_ **Thank the freaking** _ **LORD.**_ **I'm seriously considering just outright skipping Twist Mountain after that, and just summarizing Hilbert's trek through it. Even though I know that ain't gonna happen. I just can't win...** **Next time is... not going to be a chapter for this story, oddly enough. Yeah, I've been ignoring my Shadow of the Colossus retelling for far too damn long, and I need to get back to it. It's a good thing that I won't need to deal with underground structures of any kind in that chapter! Wait, what's that, non-existent voice in my head? Fighting the fourth Colossus** _ **does**_ **involve going into tunnels? Aw, crap...**


	26. Chapter 24: The Route of Rain

**A/N: Before writing this chapter, another (and potentially better) title for this story struck me, and I'd like to get some feedback on it. Leave a sentence or two in your reviews letting me know what you think. The title is _Long Way to Fall._ I personally think it sounds better and fits better with Hilbert's character arc, and the general dehumanization he'll go through in this. But hey, what do I know? I'm nobody important. I won't change the title right away, but if it turns out it's liked, I'll heavily consider changing the title from _I Never Wanted to be the Hero_ to _Long Way to Fall_ after this is done. If it gets done. If it's not liked, I'll keep it as is. Just try to stay objective and keep an open mind to it. That's all I ask. FYI: This chapter's official title _is_ 'Route 7 and the Tower of Heaven' contrary to the dropdown menu. **

* * *

**I Never Wanted to be the Hero**

By: Rylek196

 **Chapter 24: Route 7 and the Tower of Heaven**

At the sensation of being dragged along across the dusty ground, Hilbert weakly opened his eyes, then immediately regretted it, as a flash of pain shot through his forehead. That was a migraine, no doubt about it, and that was all he was able to register before he lapsed into unconsciousness once again. However, it was a very brief respite, and the next thing he knew, the feeling of cold liquid being poured down his throat awoke him once more. It took him five full seconds to realize the liquid was water, and that was just enough time for him to start sputtering and choking on it.

He coughed roughly a few times, some of the water spilling out of his mouth and dribbling down his chin to dampen the collar of his black T-shirt.

"I'd keep that water down, if I were you," a voice in front of him said. "You need it badly right now."

Hilbert stopped coughing, and blearily opened his eyes, seeing a blurry mass of green in front of him, in stark contrast to the blurry mass of blue behind it. It took a few seconds for the green mass to come into focus, revealing a face that belonged to someone he now hated with a passion: N.

The green-haired young man was squatting in front of Hilbert, and held a water bottle in one hand. Hilbert, meanwhile, was sitting with his back leaned against the left wall of the cave, like a dummy put into storage.

Indescribable anger seized Hilbert's mind, and he tried to raise his arm to grab N by the throat, only for him to merely swat his hand down, Hilbert's limb flopping away uselessly like limp spaghetti. _"You fucking son of a bitch..."_ Hilbert rasped, his voice hoarse and his throat hating him for even daring to speak, _"I hate you... I'm gonna fucking kill you..."_

N merely clicked his tongue and sighed. "Now, that's not very polite to say to someone offering you the very thing you need to not die right now," he said. "I could just as easily pour this water on the ground and leave you here to die."

Hilbert coughed again. _"I'd al... almost rather that than be saved by you..."_

"Well, that's too bad, then." N brought the water bottle to Hilbert's lips and let him take another long drink. Despite what he had just said, Hilbert drank greedily, letting the badly needed liquid wash over the inside of his throat, soothing it. N took the bottle away after a short while, as it was nearly empty.

Hilbert gave another rough cough before speaking. _"So, why... why did you save me?"_

"Because I still want to know what kind of Trainer you are," N said, giving him a hard look. "It's obvious you can push through adversity and triumph over your opponents- well, most of the time, seeing as you lost to me at Nimbasa's ferris wheel."

Hilbert gave N a murderous look as he recalled that humiliating loss.

N then stood up, revealing he had four Poke Balls clipped to his belt. _Oh, no..._ Hilbert thought miserably, knowing what was coming without a doubt.

"However," N went on, "It seems that even _you_ can't get through everything unscathed. You do have limits, like everyone does. As for me, I'm reaching the limit of my patience. The world is still far too gray from too many different values mixed together. That is unforgivable. _Unacceptable._ I will separate Pokemon from people, and black and white will be clearly distinct. Pokemon will then be perfect beings!"

Hilbert's expression got more and more disturbed throughout N's ramblings, both at how insane they sounded, and at the fact that N seemed to talking to _himself._

"Yes... Pokemon as perfect beings... that is the world of my dreams," the green-haired young man said as he turned back to Hilbert.

" _That's your dream, huh?"_ Hilbert rasped. He began to force himself to his feet, his legs shaking and his muscles screaming at him. _"Well, that's funny. I have a dream too, right now. And it's killing you!"_

N just shook his head. "Hilbert, look at yourself, you can barely stand. You're in no condition to move that much, let alone battle me."

" _I don't care!"_ Hilbert yelled as best he was able, then launched into a violent coughing fit for doing so. _"We're going to fight, I'm going to win, and then I'll tear your throat out so I don't have to hear you fucking talk ever again! Scrapper, get out there!"_

Hilbert threw out one of his only three Pokemon left standing. Scrapper let out a growl upon seeing N, gritting his teeth in rage.

Sighing in apparent resignation, N threw out a Boldore. Boldore was a three-legged Pokemon that resembled a blue rock. It had four opaque orange-red crystals along its back, with more crystals of the same colour at the tips of its crab-like legs. Three more, smaller crystals were below two yellow pits in its face, resembling teeth (however, little did Hilbert know, those yellow pits were actually Boldore's _ears)_.

Making the first move, Scrapper leapt into action, slashing at the far slower Pokemon with Metal Claw. Even though Metal Claw was a fairly weak move, and Boldore had good defense, Excadrill's high attack won out. To Hilbert's shock, though, the Boldore flinched, but didn't go down. The opaque crystals on the Ore Pokemon's back began to glow, and beams of light shot out of them in a Power Gem attack, hitting Excardill squarely in the chest, blowing him backwards, but otherwise doing minimal damage. Excadrill quad-resisted Rock-type attacks, after all.

" _Wha-"_ Hilbert placed his hand against the cave wall for support as he launched into another short fit of hacking and coughing, _"What the hell was that!? Why didn't your Boldore go down!?"_

N just shook his head. "You really should do more homework, Hilbert. That was Boldore's ability, Sturdy, which allows it to take any hit so long as it is at full health. I really thought you would have known that, but I guess not."

If looks could kill, N would have been unspeakably mutilated by the glare Hilbert was giving him. Choosing to ignore it, N simply yelled, "Now, Boldore, Mud-Slap!"

The Boldore kicked up an alarmingly large amount of dirt from the cave floor, launching it at Scrapper. He cried out as he was hit by the wave of mud, the super-effective Ground-type attack actually doing some damage. A few flecks of dirt splattered across Hilbert's face, too.

Growling, at being covered in mud, Scrapper shook his body like a rattle, causing the substance to fly everywhere, spraying Hilbert with more mud. He then threw himself at the Boldore, slashing it brutally with Metal Claw, knocking it out. N quickly recalled his Pokemon, then threw out his next one.

Hilbert's blood ran cold as he saw what N tossed out. _Oh, fuck._ It was a Ferroseed. A Steel-type. A type all his counters to were knocked out. Still, there was a chance Scapper could chip the Ferroseed down, but it was slim. The most powerful attacks that Scrapper knew- Earthquake and Rock Slide- were almost guaranteed death sentences in such a confined space, and Metal Claw would do chip damage at best. Though, there was one other option: Hone Claws. Maybe if Scrapper got enough boosts, he could smash through the Ferroseed with brute force.

 _Well, that's a better option than nothing,_ Hilbert thought. Still bracing himself against the wall with one hand and with his legs getting noticeably more shaky, he yelled in a hoarse voice, _"Scrapper, Hone Claws!"_

Scrapper began to scrape his claws against each other, but Ferroseed would have none of it. It launched itself into the air, letting loose a barrage of needles from its body in a Pin Missile attack. The small spikes embedded themselves everywhere, a few even coming within just feet of N, but more importantly, they pelted Scrapper, keeping him from pulling off the stat-raising move while also doing damage.

His breathing getting heavy- though whether from exhaustion or anger, even Hilbert himself couldn't say- he commanded his Excadrill to try the same thing, only to get the exact same result. And the time after that. And after that.

N just shook his head at the display that could only be called pitiful. He raised his arms. "Hilbert, enough. You're going nowhere fast in your condition, or with that strategy."

Still breathing heavily, Hilbert just managed to gasp out, _"I... don't... CARE! I'll do whatever it t-takes... t-to... bring you... down..."_ Hilbert's body, however, was far weaker than his will. His legs practically gave out from underneath him, and he slumped against the wall, his breathing labored. Scrapper ran to his Trainer, looking concerned.

N just sighed and returned his Ferroseed to its Poke Ball. "Well, that was meaningless," he muttered. He walked up to his opponent, only for the Excadrill to growl at him murderously, taking a defensive stance in front of its Trainer. N outstretched his hands in a gesture of peace to indicate he held no weapons. "Relax, my friend," he said in a soothing voice, "Your... Trainer... is in dire need of help. Help that, pained as I am to say, you can't provide. You have to let me past in order for me to give him the aid he needs."

Scrapper looked bewildered for a second, but the decision was out of his claws in the end, as Hilbert had worked up the strength to grab his Poke Ball, and return him to it. His arm then fell weakly against the ground. N took out his water bottle, squatting in front of Hilbert once more, letting Hilbert drink the last of the contents of it.

Hilbert's eyes narrowed to wrathful slits. _"I... hate... you..."_ he whispered hoarsely, but with anger still clear in his tone.

"Yes, and I like you too, so very much," N said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Either way, that was all the water I had, so you'll need more help than I can give right now." At the sound of approaching voices and footsteps, his head whipped up, looking to the side. "And speaking of which, here comes some now."

Hilbert had just enough strength to turn his head to the left, seeing Bianca and Juniper walking up to them.

"It's only a little farther to the end of the cave, Bianca," Juniper was saying. "We'll be there before you- oh my Arceus! Hilbert!" She cut herself off as she saw Hilbert slumped against a wall and a mysterious green-haired young man she had never met standing over him. Said young man's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She ignored him, and ran over to the dehydrated and thoroughly exhausted boy, kneeling in front of him and holding his face, lightly slapping his cheeks to bring him back to relative awareness.

Hilbert just groaned, weakly uttering Juniper's name. "Is... is he okay, Professor?" Bianca asked. N's eyes widened in realization.

"No," Juniper answered fearfully. "He needs medical attention. We need to get him to Mistralton as soon as possible. Trouble is, it's still six kilometres away!"

N, who had been silent and seemingly brooding throughout this exchange, suddenly spoke up. "So..." he said, his tone sounding more than a little menacing as he crossed his arms over his chest, _"You're_ the esteemed Professor Juniper."

"...Yes, I am," Juniper said, looking over her shoulder apprehensively. She stood up, leaving Hilbert alone for a few moments. "Who are you, again? I don't believe we've met."

"My name is N," N said, causing both Juniper and Bianca to give him a strange look.

"What kind of a name is- ow!" Bianca cried out as Juniper elbowed her in the shoulder to cut off her statement before giving her a stern look.

" _Don't be rude,"_ Juniper whispered to Bianca. N just rolled his eyes, like he had been through this song and dance already. "Now, if you have something to say, say it fast, as we kind of have a medical emergency here." She gestured to Hilbert.

"I will," N replied. "I just have a simple question: What were you thinking with that... that wretched device called a Pokedex!? You say you have no qualms about the relationship between Pokemon and people, and yet you hand out that disgusting encyclopedia that unjustly categorizes Pokemon using the most arbitrary guidelines and expect people to understand them that way!? They can never be perfect beings entrapped in Poke Balls! How _dare_ you call yourself a 'Professor of Pokemon?' You disgust me!"

Juniper's gaze hardened. "I don't know who you are, young man, but I do _not_ appreciate being spoken to like that. And to be honest, it strikes me as more than a bit hypocritical of you to have the audacity to accuse _me_ of 'unjustly categorizing Pokemon' when _you're_ the one with Poke Balls on your belt! Now get out of our way! We have to get Hilbert to Mistralton!"

N seemed taken aback at Juniper's outburst, but then his eyes showed nothing but anger. "No!" he shouted. "No I won't get out of the way! You're the cause of countless Pokemon suffering, so if I have to stop you here, then I will."

"...What do you mean by that?" Juniper said, fear creeping into her voice.

"What I mean is this!" N yelled. He released a Klink from its Poke Ball, the Gear Pokemon making strange metallic grinding noises as Juniper's eyes widened in fear. "I won't kill you," N went on, "But I will teach you a lesson! Klink, attack!"

Juniper screamed as the Klink gathered energy for a Charge Beam attack, only to feel a rush of heat blast by her. Not even a second later, the Klink was knocked out, crushed under a super-effective Heat Crash from Bianca's Pignite. The Pignite looked N down with fury in its eyes, mimicking that of its Trainer.

"Don't you _dare_ try to hurt Professor Juniper!" Bianca yelled, a confidence she thought she lost in her voice. "Try something like that again, and I'll have Toroko crush _you!"_

"Very well, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get," N growled. He sent out his Ferroseed next.

What followed could hardly be called a fight. Bianca, due to having the type advantage in Pignite, decimated him. N was a superb Trainer, but no one could hope to stand up to a higher-level Pokemon with a type advantage over their entire team. In the end, Bianca sent N running out of the cave.

Her breathing heavy from fear, Juniper turned to Bianca as she recalled her Pignite. "Thank you, Bianca. I knew bringing you along was a good idea."

Bianca just smiled. "It was my pleasure, Professor. Did you think I was gonna let that creep hurt you? Not a chance."

"But still..." Juniper mused, "What a strange young man. He acts similarly to the people you told me about, Bianca- Team Plasma."

"Yeah," Bianca said. "He does. I think he might be one of them, or at least supporting them."

"Maybe," Juniper said. "But right now, all that matters is getting Hilbert out of here and to Mistralton." She walked back to the exhausted, dehydrated boy, picking him up under his legs and around his back.

Bianca was astounded that Juniper could carry both Hilbert- who weighed easily over a hundred pounds- and her heavy backpack on her back simultaneously. "But, Professor! You said it yourself- it's six kilometres away! Are you sure we can make it? I'm not saying I don't want to save him, but still... After what he did to me..." She rubbed her left arm.

"Honestly, Bianca, I think he's a bit of a jerk, too, and I don't know if we'll make it, but that doesn't mean we can't damn well try. The last thing I want to say to his mother is that I left him to die in a cave and did nothing to save him."

Together, the two females exited the cave, and came out into a wide, forested path, with trees about thirty feet away on the east and west. Being in somewhat of a valley, they were unable to see the buildings of Mistralton, but that would change as the landscape elevated to the north. The morning sky was gray with the promise of oncoming rain. The occasional Deerling ran by across the path into the woods.

After about ten minutes of traveling, even the normally peppy, optimistic Bianca could see that Juniper was tiring. _And there's still so far to go... We'll never make it at this rate._ She thought. The sinister part of her said that was a good thing, and that Hilbert dying would serve him right after how he treated her, but she quashed those thoughts in a hurry. She would teach him his lesson later- in a Pokemon battle.

Suddenly, they heard the distant _chop-chop-chop_ of helicopter blades approaching. Juniper stopped in her tracks. "Bianca!" she cried. "If we can signal that chopper, it might land and help us! There's a flare gun in my backpack. Take it out, quickly!"

With shaking, desperate hands, Bianca unzipped Juniper's bag, and dug around inside as the sound got louder and closer. She managed to find it due to its bright orange colour and bulky shape, pulling it out. Finding it already loaded, she pointed it skyward, and, praying this would work, squeezed the trigger, shooting a small fireball high into the air as the chopper came into view...

Skyla was not having the best of days, to say the least. While she respected Professor Aurea Juniper immensely, her father could be a bit dim at times. Here she was, doing an aerial survey in the one aerial vehicle she didn't like, wondering how in hell she let herself be talked into this.

Beside her, the man known as Cedric Juniper was taking pictures with a high-definition camera of every Flying-type Pokemon he saw, which mostly consisted of Tranquill, the evolution of Pidove- I.E Pokemon she saw on a daily basis as per her job as Gym Leader of Mistralton City. Needless to say, she was bored and slightly irritated. They had gone as far as Driftveil, passing over Chargestone Cave, and were currently in the process of heading back to Mistralton.

Skyla wore her usual set of clothes for aerial excursions: A baby blue, long-sleeved top that showed off her midriff, thick navy blue flight gloves with inner fur lining, blue boots that covered up to her calves, and baby blue short shorts. Her red hair was currently accessorized by both her normal propeller-shaped hairpin and a headset mic for this outing. Skyla knew (much to her embarrassment) that she was one of the top internet picks for the 'Sexiest Female Gym Leaders', and that teenage boys all over Unova constantly debated if she or her good friend Elesa were hotter.

Cedric, meanwhile, was wearing a striped yellow shirt, brown trousers, and beige loafers. His hair was a few shades lighter than his daughter's brownish-blond hair, kept up in a cowlick, and he had a short, neatly kept beard on his chin.

"I must say, this has been quite the informative survey, Skyla," Cedric said after putting his camera down for the first time since they'd gotten off the ground. "Maybe next time we can take your plane to Kanto or Sinnoh and see how their local populations of Flying-type Pokemon are doing!"

Skyla let out an audible groan into her mic. That did it, she was taking a trip to the Celestial Tower to unwind and de-stress in the very near future... "Professor, my plane is meant for cargo, not research trips!" she said, her temper almost reaching boiling point. "And you're talking like those places are a quick trip away! With all due respect, newsflash: They're not! Even by plane, it takes hours to get there!"

Cedric looked down in disappointment, then went back to his camera in silence. Then, without warning, a small but very bright light shot up not fifty feet in front of the chopper, so close Skyla gasped and instinctively swerved the helicopter to the left to avoid it, even though there was no need. "Whoa!" Cedric cried out, pitching to the side in his seat and nearly losing his grip on his camera. "What was that!?"

Skyla quickly got the chopper under control, righting it in the sky before she answered. "That was a signal flare! It came from the ground! Someone obviously wants our attention. Professor, I'm gonna get closer, you use that camera of yours to see who did that!"

Without waiting for his reply, Skyla flew the chopper over where the flare had been shot from, keeping it at a steady hover once she got there. Cedric aimed the camera at the ground, using the controls on the top to zoom in. "I can see three people down there!" he reported. "They seem to be waving at us!" He readjusted the focus. "Wait- I can see Aurea down there! She's with two young people, and one of them doesn't seem to be moving! Skyla, we've got to land and see what's wrong!"

Skyla looked down at the ground through the chopper's window. She could just make out three tiny people-shaped blurs on the ground far below. They seemed to be standing in a fairly small clearing on the road to Mistralton, but then, everything seemed tinier than it really was from way up in the sky. "I'll see what I can do to land!" she yelled. "Hang on!" With that, she began the helicopter's descent.

"Professor!" Bianca cried. "They saw us! They're coming down!"

Juniper and Bianca moved out of the way to give the chopper the maximum amount of space possible to land. Luckily, there was enough room in the clearing, but only just. Skyla shut off the rotors, she and Cedric waiting until they had spun down almost completely before getting out. Cedric was the first one on solid land, followed closely by Skyla.

The two Junipers ran up to each other. "Aurea, sweetheart! What seems to be the problem?" the elder asked.

Aurea tilted her head down at the boy in her arms. Hilbert was currently unconscious from fatigue, and his breathing was shallow. "Right now? Him. He's dehydrated, exhausted, and needs medical attention now. Can you have Skyla there take him to Mistralton?"

"I can," Skyla said, cutting in. "That chopper does have room for a third passenger."

"Then let's get him on board," Juniper said. She gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll meet you in Mistralton later. It was good to see you, Dad. Oh, and before you ask, the research in Chargestone went well."

"That's good to hear," Cedric replied, taking Hilbert from his daughter and placing him in the helicopter. Both Skyla and Cedric climbed in, and with a whir of rotors, they were off.

Meanwhile, in the treeline, just out of sight, N watched all of this unfold with narrowed eyes. _That Bianca girl is far better than the Shadow Triad let on._ _Underestimating her was a mistake,_ he thought, but then quickly corrected himself. _No... giving into my emotions and allowing my friends to get hurt..._ that _was the real mistake._

He tapped his fingertips against the Poke Balls on his belt, looking down at them in utter rage. Why _do I keep using these disgusting things? I know I said to Hilbert back when we first met in Accumula Town that I caught Pokemon for protection on Routes, but that was a lie. Maybe that Professor was right... I can no longer pursue the truth through hypocrisy! That will never allow me to become friends with the Legendary Pokemon!_

Glancing up, he saw that both the Professor and Bianca had moved on, having continued on their trek to Mistralton. He took four Hyper Potions out of his pockets, healing each of his Pokemon in turn. Releasing them all as quickly as he could, he ushered them away with shooing gestures of his arms. "Go! Go now, you're free! All of you!" he cried. His Pokemon all gave him sad looks, but otherwise didn't move. _"Get out of here!"_ N yelled. "You're _free!_ You're done being slaves! Go back to the wild, go back to how you were meant to be!"

One by one, the Pokemon he had caught slowly turned and walked back to the cave, looking despondent. _And there it is_ again!N mentally screamed. WHY _do they all give me sad looks when I release them!? They should be happy! They can't possibly like being with a Trainer... could they?_

"No... no they couldn't," he continued out loud. "I can't allow my convictions to weaken... not now. Not when I'm so close to creating a world where Pokemon can be perfect beings..."

A few hours later, Hilbert's eyes slowly opened as he lay in a hospital bed, an IV in his arm, slowly dripping electrolyte-rich water into his body through a tube. Both Professor Juniper and an unfamiliar man were standing at the foot of the bed, talking in concerned tones. He opened his still extremely dry mouth, almost having to prise his tongue from where it had been plastered on the roof of his mouth, making a small groan.

Juniper and the unknown man stopped talking when they heard him make noise. They both were at his bedside in an instant. _"Wha- wha' happened..?"_ he rasped, his voice still quiet and scratchy.

Juniper reached for a glass of water on a small table next to his bed. "Drink this, then we'll explain," she said, helping him take a long drink from the cup. Hilbert gulped down nearly the whole glass in one go due to his thirst.

"Well, someone needed a drink," Cedric chuckled. His daughter shot him a withering glare, and he gave an apologetic look back.

"'What happened'," Juniper explained, "Is that Bianca and I found you in Chargestone Cave, slumped against a wall with some green-haired young man standing over you that I had never met. He attacked me, and if Bianca hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened..."

Juniper trailed off, giving Hilbert just enough time to think murderously, _N... you rat bastard..._

"Anyway," Juniper continued, "We carried you out of there, but if it weren't for my father here and this city's Gym Leader, you'd be a whole lot worse off, trust me. But I want to know what happened to _you._ Why _were_ you so dehydrated when we found you?"

" _I... I dunno,"_ Hilbert said, his breathing still labored somewhat. He paused to swallow thickly. _"I... I thought I was... was gonna be out of the cave eas... easily enough, but I came u-up to this big rock wall that blocked my path. Ev... even my Excadrill cou... couldn't break it down... and-and the ladder to go back to the lower floors was gone, too..."_

Juniper and her father exchanged confused looks. "Hilbert... there is no rock wall that close to the exit of Chargestone Cave. Bianca and I even took the exact same path you did, because it's the only one, and we saw nothing like that."

" _Bu- wha..?"_ Hilbert sputtered. _"I...I swear, though, th-there was a wall I couldn't get past!"_

"Now, now, calm down, son," the older man said. "It's not that we don't believe you- your current condition is proof enough that you're telling the truth- but I will admit, it is odd. Rock walls don't just appear and disappear, after all. Oh, and by the way, my name is Cedric Juniper, before you ask. I'm Aurea's father."

" _I... I'm Hilbert. Shame we couldn't m-meet under better circumstances."_

"Indeed. Either way, I think it'd be best if we let you get some sleep. You clearly need both that and lots of water after your ordeal." Cedric stood up, followed by his daughter, and together they walked out of the room.

"Strange..." Cedric mused as he walked down the Pokemon Center's halls. "We know he's being truthful, and yet at the same time, I can tell you with 100% certainty that there's no rock wall blocking the path out of Chargestone Cave..."

"I know," Aurea answered. "This might be something we should look into."

"I can help, but not for too long," Cedric replied. "I need to go over the pictures of Flying-type Pokemon I took on that aerial survey with Skyla, and then after that, I need to get going on another research trip to Dragonspiral Tower in Icirrus City. Why don't get your charming new assistant to help you after I leave? I believe you told me her name was Bianca?"

"That sounds fine," Juniper said. "I always love working with you, dad."

"And I you, sweetheart," Cedric said, drawing his daughter into a hug. "I you."

Meanwhile, while all this was going on, Hilbert, just before giving into exhaustion and falling into a fitful sleep, quietly raged. _N... the next time I see you, I'm gonna rip your fucking guts out,_ he thought. _Not even with my Pokemon, either. I'll only need my bare hands!_

Twenty-four hours later, Hilbert was released from the Pokemon Center's hospital wing, after drinking much water and draining another bag of IV fluid (even though his doctors were sure it was overkill, it was better to be safe than sorry). While still a little shaky on his feet and weak in the knees, he was feeling far better off than he had been. Even though it was early in the morning, the skies were gray and cloudy. The forecast had predicted the next few days would bring huge thunderstorms with only occasional breaks, and it was looking like those predictions would be true. Indeed, even now, the faintest traces of spit were coming down, making the air a bit misty.

Just like after his little 'incident' when he caught Sensei, Hilbert's first priority was to find a store where he could buy a new jacket. In spite of Mistraton's emphasis on agriculture, finding a clothing store with what he wanted was surprisingly easy, taking less than ten minutes. Within another ten minutes, Hilbert had bought not only a new jacket, but new jeans, socks, and even underwear. The outfit was an exact copy of the one he had first set out from Nuvema Town wearing, the jacket having a built-in hood rather than a slightly thicker zip-on one. He discarded his old clothing in a dumpster behind the store, then walked back to the Pokemon Center.

Mistralton was a city of airplanes, airports, and agriculture. The more residential area of the city was located to the east, with a majority of the fields to the west. In the city's middle, was the massive airport and runways therein. The runways almost served as a dividing line between the two halves, with the closest fields not two hundred metres away from the westernmost runway. The fields of crops both growing and not stretched on and on for dozens of kilometres south, north, and west, with only crisscrossing dirt paths to separate them. Food was obviously Mistralton's primary export, with Driftveil helping to ship some out to other regions, but the majority of it was carried by plane.

It didn't take long to get back to the Pokemon Center, but as he went past, he heard a very familiar and unwelcome voice cockily say, "What took ya so long?"

Hilbert stopped, turning his head to the left. It was Cheren, leaning against the Center's left wall, his arms crossed and one foot perched against the wall in a rather pitiful attempt to look badass. Shrugging like it was just the wind he had heard, Hilbert just kept walking.

"Aw, what's the matter, too scared?" Cheren continued, once again not realizing he was just poking the Ursaring. "You should be- _I_ already got my Jet Badge. Guess you were too slow going through Chargestone."

Hilbert yet again stopped in his tracks. He turned around and stomped furiously toward where Cheren was. Before the black-haired boy could react, Hilbert had grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. "Let's get one thing straight, ' _friend',"_ Hilbert hissed with barely contained anger, "The only reason I was slower than you in getting this city's Gym Badge is because I nearly _died_ in Chargestone! I've been in the fucking _hospital_ for the past _day!_ And you have the audacity to make fun of me for it!?" Hilbert punctuated his next sentence by slamming Cheren against the wall with every word. _"HOW! FUCKING! DARE YOU!"_

Cheren groaned in pain, the back of his head having hit the wall hard several times due to Hilbert's violent outburst, but Hilbert himself didn't care. With strength he didn't know he had, he actually lifted Cheren off the ground a few inches, slamming him against the wall once more for good measure. "Now," Hilbert growled in a murderous tone, "I'm only gonna ask this once. Where. Is. The Gym Leader?"

"Sh-she said she was going to the Celestial Tower after I beat her," Cheren whimpered, sounding truly scared of Hilbert's ferociousness. "I-it's at the north end of Route 7."

"Thanks," Hilbert said, sounding anything but grateful. He let go of Cheren, who slipped and fell to the muddy ground with a grunt. Hilbert then just walked away, leaving Cheren behind.

"W-wait!" Cheren called after him as he pushed himself to his feet, "You're going now? Are you nuts!? The Celestial Tower is fifteen kilometres away and there's a thunderstorm coming!"

"Did I say I care?" Hilbert scoffed without looking back.

Cheren was stunned, his eyes widening, then narrowing in a mixture of wrath and determination. _And he kept calling_ me _the asshole before now,_ he thought. _What a hypocrite._ _I'll beat you, Hilbert, but I want to take you on as an equal- when we both have the Jet Badge._

Route 7 was an overgrown wildland. Incredibly tall grass, nearly three-and-a-half feet tall, grew in abundance here, providing ample habitats for the wild Foongus, Zebstrika, and Watchog populations, while the Tranquill here lived in massive nests in the tall trees. Though some of the grass had been cleared due to human development (which included the addition of power lines), the Route remained largely in its natural state.

Hilbert stood at the south end of the Route, having just exited Mistralton. Just ahead of him was one of the many wide boardwalk paths the Route was known for, built provide a path above the grass and through the claustrophobic trees. A short set of stairs led up the boardwalk, but it had no handrails whatsoever. Thankfully, it was wide enough that falling off was unlikely. To the west was a tall yet traversable cliff thanks to stairs and a path that had been carved into a flat precipice on top. He could see people climbing the stairs and others on the path itself.

Having no interest in taking the cliff path, Hilbert started walking, making his way up the stairs and onto the boardwalk. He had just taken a few steps when the storm that had been brewing for the past few hours finally came down in full force. The heavens opened up as lightning flashed somewhere in the distance, followed by the rumbling of thunder as copious amounts of water poured from the sky.

"Shit!" Hilbert cursed. He flipped up the hood of his jacket, already knowing it would provide limited protection at best. Still, he pressed on through the downpour.

He wasn't sure how long he walked along those seemingly endless planks of wood, each one covered with a strip of black traction tape held in place by contact cement, with the sound of his footfalls, the rain, and the cries of distant Pokemon his only company. With the darkness of the forest on either side of him, and the never-ending rain, it created a very melancholy (some would say outright sorrowful) atmosphere.

After who knew how long of walking that same monotonous northward path (in reality, it was about half an hour) it took an abrupt and sharp turn to the left, the treeline becoming far less closed-in and oppressive. The particular boardwalk he was on also ended right after this turn, revealing a clearing where a small enclave of houses stood. _Who in their right mind would want to_ live _on this Route!?_ he thought, stunned.

By now, he was soaked and cold, the rain having taken its toll, yet he didn't even stop to so much as knock on a door. He just walked right past the houses, finding another boardwalk that led out of the group of homes to the east.

This boardwalk ended up being far shorter than the last, only going on for about ten minutes, after which it dropped him off on a ground-level, northward-leading dirt path- or at least, it _would_ have been had the rain not turned it to mud and pockmarked it with puddles. At least in the far distance, he thought he could make out the gray shape of the Celestial Tower.

Unfortunately, there was also someone who was quite obviously a Trainer not a hundred feet away, given how he had two Pokemon out in mock battle, paying the rain no heed. Seeing no way to avoid him, Hilbert nonchalantly kept walking toward him.

When he was within fifteen feet of him, the blue-haired young man turned around after recalling his Pokemon, seeing Hilbert.

"Ah, I see I've got someone to help me out with my Triple Battle technique!" he said, having to raise his voice to be heard over the rain. He wore what looked like a navy blue track suit with a lighter blue vest with orange trim over it, along with a pair of sturdy boots that were covered in mud and fingerless gloves.

Hilbert stopped. "And what if I don't want to?" he shot back.

"Well, then I guess I just won't give you a choice!" the Trainer smirked. "Name's Elmer. I'm a Trainer specializing in the art of Triple Battles. And you are..?"

"Hilbert."

"Okay, then, Hilbert, I'm gonna assume you're a newbie to Triple Battles. As the name implies, they're Pokemon battles where you send out three Pokemon at once! You need a special license to challenge people to them, which I just so happen to have. I could tell you more, but there's no teacher like experience, as they say! Get out there, team!"

With that, Elmer threw out a Liepard and a Swoobat, followed by a Watchog. All three looked ready for battle, but Hilbert wasn't worried. His Pokemon were far more powerful than what Elmer was packing. He threw out three of his Pokemon that were almost guaranteed counters to Elmer's; namely, Sawk, Excadrill, and Archen. He smirked as the confidence drained from his opponent's face.

The two teams of three stared each other down for a few seconds, then they both ran into battle, and chaos broke loose. Sensei and the Watchog met first, Sensei lashing out with a Brick Break, only to slam his hand into the energy barrier of Protect that Watchog threw up just in time. As Sawk recoiled in pain, Watchog dispelled the barrier and grabbed Sensei, chomping on his face hard with Super Fang, cutting his health down to half and making him howl in pain. The Watchog then pushed Sensei away, sending him stumbling back, leaving him vulnerable to a super-effective Air Slash from the Swoobat, knocking him out.

"Dammit!" Hilbert yelled. He recalled Sensei, quickly throwing out Maru as a replacement as Elmer gave a self-congratulatory yell.

"That's it, team! Just like we trained! Keep up the pressure!"

In response to this morale boost, his team began to attack far more aggressively, with the Swoobat launching Air Slash after Air Slash at Artemis, all of which she dodged, but not giving her a chance to counterattack. This opened her up for the Liepard to smack her with an Assurance attack, only to be blasted away by an immense Scald from Maru.

To both Hilbert and Elmer's shock, the attack was more than enough to one-hit KO the Liepard. _Oh, no,_ Elmer thought. _I forgot about the boost rain gives to Water-type attacks!_ Knowing he had to take Hilbert's Samurott out lest he be swept, he yelled, "Watchog, use Hypnosis on the Samurott!"

Watchog, who had been dueling with Scrapper all this time, heard the command, and breaking off its fight with the Excadrill to shoot a pinkish energy beam from its gaping red eyes at Maru. Maru, in a move he would immediately regret, looked at the beam, and felt himself growing sleepy instantly. In another heartbeat, his eyes closed, putting him out of the fight.

 _Oh, SHIT!_ Hilbert thought. If it was any consolation, Scrapper slashed the Watchog while it was open with Metal Claw, then buried it under a Rock Slide.

Elmer, now down to just his Swoobat, knew the battle was lost at this point, but decided to get one in more attack to go down fighting. "Swoobat, Aerial Ace on the Excadrill!"

Faster than Scrapper could react, he was struck by the Swoobat as it rammed into him at lightning speed, The Swoobat was subsequently hit by a Rock Tomb from Artemis, knocking it out in one super-effective hit.

"Ah... dammit," Elmer said, recalling his fallen Pokemon.

"Guess I'm not as much of a newbie to Triple Battles as you thought I was," Hilbert said, smirking and recalling his team as well.

Elmer just rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fair's fair, though." He and Hilbert tapped Trainer Cards.

With a nod of his head and a, "Thanks for the battle," Hilbert started to go on his way.

"Wait a second," Elmer said. "Since you beat me, I'll let you know where I got the TM for that last move I used- you know, Aerial Ace?"

Hilbert was silent, so Elmer went on. "I got it from these two kids back in Mistralton. They have this whole chest full of 'em buried at the end of the third row of fields east of the runways. Despite that, they're stingy giving them away. I had to bribe 'em with money and fistfuls of candy to get mine." He chuckled remembering it.

"I'll keep that in mind," Hilbert said, tipping his soaked cap at Elmer. "Thanks." With that, he was off once again.

The rest of the way to the Celestial Tower was even more monotonous, rain-soaked, lonely, and boring. Hilbert didn't know what he hated more: the tedium, or the rain. Sure, walking this far to go anywhere was boring, but the rain just made it worse, and on top of that, it just. Did. Not. Stop. _Then again... maybe it's both..._ he thought miserably.

He couldn't even run, as that would only result in him getting even more drenched. Either way, the rain by now had soaked him to the bone, his clothes sticking to his skin, and his feet making wet, disgusting squelching noises inside his shoes with every step he took. Water dripped off the bill of his cap damn near constantly, almost getting into his face, and he had to sniffle back the mucus that now ran free from his nose due to how cold he was.

There were a few more short boardwalks to take to get over patches of tall grass, and at one point, one of them had a branching path leading to the east, toward Twist Mountain. _Don't want to go there,_ Hilbert thought. So, he kept up his northward path. There were a few more people out here, but they were mostly nature enthusiasts that the guts (or lack of sanity) to be out in these conditions. The one or two he could tell were Trainers, he avoided. There was no need to slow himself down any further. He just continued on unopposed, with just himself, and the rain, and his growing sense of this not being worth it his only companions.

Finally, after two-and-a-half more hours, he arrived at the light-gray stone building called the Celestial Tower. He looked up at the five-story construction. Celestial Tower was, for the most part, a round, semi-pyramidal structure that gradually got thinner the higher the tower climbed. Numerous windows with no panes of glass in them dotted the tower, with ramp-like protrusions spiraling their way up to the top, but they were far too narrow for any person to walk on. A set of huge medieval-style double doors provided the entrance, and Hilbert gave them a mighty push, opening them surprisingly well-oiled hinges, and went inside.

The interior of the Celestial Tower, at least the floor he was on, was a huge circle with elegant stonework making up the floor. To the left was a huge stone staircase that curved upwards as it climbed to the ceiling, but most notably, there were sixteen gravestones, side-by-side in groups of two, laid out in rows of four.

At first, Hilbert was startled, but then he realized this was a Pokemon grave tower, much like Sinnoh's Lost Tower, or Kanto's Pokemon Tower before it had been renovated. Unlike humans, Pokemon were beings of pure energy, and as such, didn't leave a behind a corpse that rotted over time. They simply dissipated into nothing when they reached the end of their lives, becoming one with the universe that birthed them once again. Even without anything to bury, their Trainers still wanted to mourn them, so they put gravestones up, explaining why Pokemon grave sites could be vertical towers.

Looking around cautiously, the sound of his breathing echoing in the empty room, Hilbert called out, "Hello? Skyla? Anyone?" He waited a few seconds, but got no reply save for his own voice reverberating back at him. "Damn... she must be up higher in the tower."

With nothing left to do, he walked to the left, taking the steep stairs up to the next floor. He was not pleased at what he found there. Unlike the gravestones on the ground floor, which were placed flat on their backs and were unobtrusive, the gravestones here were all vertical, almost as tall as he was, packed so closely together that squeezing in between them was impossible, and slapped down hither and thither in an inconvenient maze-like way. Some of the graves were simple (if huge) headstones, others were tall obelisks, but all served the same purpose right now: to impede him.

"Damn it all to hell!" Hilbert yelled. Though, with little choice but to keep going (he _really_ didn't want to have come all this way to leave empty-handed), he continued on. There were a few people standing before certain gravestones mourning their fallen Pokemon in silence, but none seemed in the mood for battle for obvious reasons. Small candle-like Ghost/Fire-types called Litwick peeked out from behind some of the graves, giggling when Hilbert looked their way and quickly ducking back into their hiding spots. All in all, it created a very creepy and unsettling atmosphere of always being watched. Hilbert's heart pounded in his chest as he made his way through the maze,

Just before reaching the north end of the room, and the stairs, he took a wrong turn by accident and ended up in front of two gravestones placed back-to-back. A small group of flower bouquets were placed at the foot of the stone he currently stood in front of. Among the bouquets, though, was the unmistakable shape of a TM's jewel case. Without hesitation, he picked it up, scanned it with his Pokedex, and found it was TM61, Will-O-Wisp. It was a status move that inflicted a burn on the opponent while also cutting their attack stat in half and doing gradual damage over time. It wasn't the most useful move for his powerhouse physical attacking team of mostly glass cannons, but nonetheless he placed it in his bag- after all, who was going to use it again?

He retraced his steps, and made his way up the stairs to the third floor. The third floor was more of the same. More Litwick, more huge gravestones laid out in a maze for no reason Hilbert could discern. The only differences were that it was even more cramped, the stairs were on the south end of the room, and a few Psychic-type Pokemon called Elgyem floated back and forth near the ceiling, making strange beeping noises. Shivering, he made his way to the stairs quickly and moved on.

The fourth floor was more notable, if only for the fact that he found another TM in front of a gravestone, this one far more useful: TM70, Shadow Claw. It was a base 70 power Ghost-type move that both Scrapper and Artemis could learn, and so he taught it to both on the spot, delighted to finally replace the mediocre Metal Claw and Quick Guard, respectively.

He placed the TM in his bag, then made his way up the stairs right as someone else made their way down them, folding an umbrella. He recognized her immediately from some of the... less than wholesome internet searches he'd done. "Skyla?" he asked, his breath heavy from exertion and his tone disbelieving.

Skyla seemed at first taken aback by the boy, his clothes still wet and disheveled from the rain, in front of her. "...Yes, I'm Skyla, Who are you?" Her high-pitched voice instantly grated on Hilbert's nerves.

"My name is Hilbert. I came all the way from Mistralton to challenge you at your Gym."

"Y-you came all the way here? In the rain!? Are you crazy!?" Skyla cried.

Having enough of his time being wasted, Hilbert snapped. "Yeah! Yeah I did come all this fuckin' way!" he shouted. "In the damn rain, too! So are you gonna accept my challenge, or not!?"

"Okay, okay, fine, I will," Skyla said. "No need to get so angry about it."

 _You'd be pretty fuckin' angry if you did what I did,_ Hilbert thought.

"However, before we go back, there's something I want you to do. Can you follow me up to the roof?"

Hilbert rolled his eyes at Skyla's request and followed her up the stairs and to the roof.

"First of all, you may be wondering why I'm even here in the first place," Skyla said as she and Hilbert walked out onto the roof of the Celestial Tower. The roof was a large, flat circle, wet from the rain that had by now lessened to a light drizzle. A blue stone platform with a bell at the end of it dominated most of the space.

"The truth is... I've been rather stressed these days, and being here calms me down," Skyla went on. "This tower is like my sensory deprivation tank. Plus, my grandfather's Braviary is laid to rest here, and I like to visit it often."

"Fascinating," Hilbert said flatly. "What are we doing up here again?"

"I want you to ring that bell up there," Skyla said, giving him a cross look. "It's for soothing the souls of the Pokemon that rest here, and the character of the person who rings it is reflected in its sound."

Hilbert gave her a bewildered look. _That's it!?_ he thought. _She just wants me to ring a fucking_ bell!? "Oooo... kaay," he said slowly, like she was crazy, and didn't quite get what he was saying. He stepped up to the platform, grumbling under his breath. _"I'm gonna turn your Pokemon into birdfeed, lady!"_

Skyla knew the bell's sound probably wouldn't be the clearest thing in the world as Hilbert put his hands on it to push it- after all, teenagers were not the most pure hearted of people- but nothing could have prepared her for the shock when Hilbert rang it. A loud, deep, _**GONG, GONG, GONG,**_ rang out over and over, and Skyla was stunned.

 _Oh... oh, my..._ shethought fearfully. _There's so much hate and anger in him... so much... What has this boy been through to build up that much rage inside him..?_

Gradually, the ringing stopped. Hilbert came down from the platform to stand in front of Skyla. "There. Done. Can we go now?"

"Y-yeah," replied the shaken woman, now thoroughly scared of the boy in front of her and wondering if she should even accept his challenge with the danger he would pose. "Um... do you have any Pokemon that know the HM for Fly?"

"At the moment, no," Hilbert said. "And no, I'm not going back through that hellhole called Route 7 just to get back to Mistralton."

"O-okay, you can borrow one of mine."

A bit confused as to why Skyla was suddenly acting so nervous after all he did was ring a damn bell, Hilbert nonetheless got on the back of her Unfezant while she boarded her Swanna, and together they took off for Mistralton, and Hilbert's next Gym battle.

* * *

 **A/N: You may have noticed (at least I hope) an uptick in the quality of the descriptions this chapter. Well, that's because I was typing this chapter on my phone while pacing aimlessly around. For some strange reason I have yet to figure out, I do my best thinking and envisioning, and therefore writing, while moving around. However, since the process is quite similar to my old write-on-paper method in that it takes longer, I probably won't do it too often. It'll be saved for chapters I _really_ want to get right or really difficult chapters (like Twist Mountain, which is coming up in a mere two chapters. Eep.) **


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